89 Blog Monetization Strategies: The Ultimate List (2023)
Blogging is a rewarding endeavor, especially once the cash starts rolling in.
If you’re looking for blog monetization strategies, then your search is over.
I have here a list of 89 proven ways to monetize a blog regardless of niche.
Looking for a specific strategy to make money as a blogger?
Don’t worry — I organized the strategies in this post according to the following categories:
- My Favorite Blog Monetization Strategies
- Direct Monetization Strategies
- Advertising
- Working with Other Brands
- Indirect Monetization Strategies
Found something you’re interested in? Then feel free to click and jump ahead to a specific section.
Table of Contents
If, however, you want to explore every possible option to generate revenue from your blog, then read on.
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s dive right in.
My Favorite Blog Monetization Strategies
Before anything else, allow me to start with the top ways I make money blogging:
1. Affiliate Marketing
If you’re a long-time Master Blogging reader, you’ll know that I consider affiliate marketing as a core blog monetization strategy.
Affiliate marketing is when you sell another company’s products. You then earn a commission for every sale made through your website.
Personally, I have generated thousands of dollars by just promoting other people’s products. Thanks to affiliate marketing.
You can read about the nitty-gritty of affiliate marketing from this post.
For those who already have an ongoing affiliate marketing campaign, there are several things you can do to boost sales. Some examples are offering coupons, writing product reviews, and adding in-text links to guides.
2. Selling Information Products
If you want to establish your brand as an authoritative force, affiliate products won’t suffice.
You need to develop your own, branded product to make a dent in your niche.
Some product ideas to consider are eBooks, audiobooks, and paid podcasts. If you have the resources, you may also develop a full-on online course.
3. Offering services
Since you run your own blog, you probably possess skills that can help other brands accomplish their online goals.
The opportunities, of course, depend on your personal set of skills.
For example, if you’re skilled in social media marketing, brands may need your help in managing their social media campaigns. Other services you can offer include graphic design, WordPress development, and content editing.
4. Being a consultant for hire
Online consultation is a specific type of service you can offer on your website for income.
As an online consultant, your goal is to fill the knowledge gaps in the organizations of your would-be clients. You will also help them prepare an action plan by assessing their needs, objectives, and available resources.
Plenty of successful bloggers offer consultation services within their fields of expertise. A telltale sign of this is a “Work With Me” call-to-action or page.
5. Build and grow a YouTube channel
You can use your blog as a springboard to build a profitable YouTube channel.
In case you’re not aware, YouTube creators or “YouTubers” make money through in-video ads and sponsorships. Some also sell affiliate products and their own branded merchandise through links in their video descriptions.
Just remember that YouTube videos shouldn’t be pure promotional pieces. At the very least, you need to make an informative, honest review that can help viewers make a purchase decision.
If you need ideas, big-name YouTube personalities like Dave Lee do this fairly regularly.
Direct Monetization Strategies
As long as a website garners traffic, there is money to be made.
Let me share with you a few ideas on how to directly monetize your blog:
6. Writing sponsored posts
If YouTube channels can monetize sponsored videos, high-traffic websites can also make money with sponsored posts.
It’s all about having the “online reach” that can help brands connect with prospective customers.
As for the specific content you need to write, it depends on the arrangement between you and your sponsor. It can be a review, a news piece, and so on.
To look for potential sponsors, leverage platforms like PayPerPost and SocialSpark if you’re a social influencer.
7. Publish advertorials
An advertorial is a special type of sponsored post with the intent of promoting another company’s product.
It’s different from a product review since it focuses on the problem that the product is trying to solve.
A rule of thumb is to make your advertorial 70-80% about the topic and only 30-20% about the product. It’s also important to disclose that the post is an advertorial and use the “nofollow” attribute for all links.
However, some companies may prefer you not to include a disclosure or use “dofollow” links. In which case, it’s entirely up to you to decide what to do.
Just carefully assess the risks and rewards. Do you need to maximize profits right now, or would you rather avoid getting on Google’s radar?
8. Sell physical products
Some bloggers use their website as a digital platform to promote their handmade products. If you belong to this group, all you need is a well-designed sales page and you’re on your way.
Of course, you still have much work to do in order to generate sales. Web traffic is the key, and it can be obtained through tactics like social media marketing, SEO, and advertising.
9. Promote your local establishment
Small business owners who start a blog normally has one goal in mind:
To have new customers walking in through the front door.
However, promoting a local business online isn’t as simple as it sounds. You need to pick your keywords carefully, fine-tune your value propositions, and hyper-target your ads.
Also, put up your company’s address and contact information where they’re visible, like your site’s header and footer. To help your business get seen by local searchers, plug in your business details on Google My Business.
10. Promote your offline services
Naturally, you should also promote any offline service you may have on your blog.
Are you a professional photographer or an interior designer? A wedding or event planner, perhaps?
Whatever it is, be sure it’s relevant to your website’s niche.
For example, if you have a gardening blog, then don’t expect to find customers for your dog sitting services.
11. Publish gated content
If your blog already has a steady stream of traffic, consider making “premium content” and lock them behind a paywall.
The blogosphere calls these “gated content,” and they are usually only accessible to paying members of a blog.
For WordPress users, creating and monetizing gated content is as easy as installing membership plugins with content restriction features. The Membership & Content Restriction plugin by Cozmoslabs is a good example.
12. Create a job board
Job boards may be more common on employment websites, but popular blogs like Freelance Writing Jobs can also have them.
Basically, a job board aggregates job opportunities into a visual and searchable online tool. If your website regularly gets visits from the right crowd, employers should be happy to pay for job postings.
13. Asking for donations
Want to learn the easiest way to monetize your blog?
Just be upfront about it and ask for donations.
This will only work if you have loyal readers who enjoy and appreciate your content. Still, it’s a monetization strategy that you can implement in literally minutes.
Payment gateways like PayPal can help you add a “donate” button anywhere on your website — no coding required.
14. Sell your own shirts
Don’t have physical products of your own to sell?
Platforms like Zazzle and CafePress can help you design and sell your very own branded merchandise. The products you can design include shirts, mugs, pillows, stickers, and hats.
15. Sell branded phone, laptop, or tablet cases
Everybody has a smart device nowadays, which could mean one thing:
Everyone has a reason to shop for custom cases.
Casetify is one of the many websites where you can design and sell your own gadget cases. It can be for an iPhone, Macbook, iPad, or Samsung device.
As for production and shipping, you can just let Casetify do all of the work. Just focus on designing something unique and promoting it on various channels, including your blog.
16. Create a paid business directory on your website
Earning money through paid business listings is viable in some blogging niches like real estate and event planning.
Long story short, a business directory makes it easier for online users to find product or service providers. That means your only role as the blog or website owner is to become the middleman.
If you’re interested in this idea, do your research on business directory plugins like GeoDirectory.
17. Monetize an event calendar
Monetizing an event calendar follows the same logic as making money with paid business listings.
But instead of a business’s address or contact information, an event calendar provides users with dates and locations.
The more traffic your blog gets, the easier it is to attract prospects who want to advertise their events. You just need an event calendar plugin like The Events Calendar and you’re golden.
18. Offer sidebar links for rent
If your blog has strong SEO standings, consider selling sidebar links to make easy money.
Sidebars that appear all over your site grant maximum exposure, thus enabling you to charge more for links. This should be done on a monthly or yearly basis to make room for other links in the future.
Just a word of caution, selling links, in general, may result in penalization, so keep them natural and relevant. Also, remember to use the “nofollow” attribute for those links.
19. Sell links within posts
You can also sell links within your posts, but you must do so with extra care.
The golden rule here is to avoid forcing links where they don’t belong. Each and every outbound link you insert must be relevant and valuable to your readers.
You’re in a grey area here as far as Google’s TOS is concerned. Don’t push your luck by inserting too many backlinks in one post.
Just prioritize the experience of readers and you should be fine.
20. Create a “buy and sell” section on your website
With a little creativity, you can use a directory plugin to build a “buy and sell” section on your blog.
BePro Listings, for example, lets you make listings where your blog audience can buy, sell, or trade their stuff.
You can make money here by asking for a small fee to post listings. Alternatively, you can enable everyone to post for free while charging users for “boosting” their posts for maximum visibility.
21. Host online auctions
Hosting online auctions is slightly different than adding a buy and sell marketplace to your website.
In an auction, products are sold to the highest bidder during a limited time period. That’s why products sold in auctions often exceed their original retail value.
When it comes to monetization, you can collect fees from vendors for every post or sale. It’s up to you to determine which option to go with.
22. Try dropshipping
Want to try your hands in eCommerce?
Dropshipping is perhaps the most accessible way to get started.
In dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about inventory management, shipping, and a high overhead cost. You just focus on selling the products on your site and the manufacturer or wholesaler will do the rest.
To streamline the creation of your dropshipping store, consider using platforms like Oberlo. It works through the eCommerce platform Shopify, which can then be integrated with WordPress.
23. Sell subscription boxes
A subscription box is a recent trend in the retail world.
Basically, it’s a subscription-based service wherein customers periodically receive niche products in exchange for a recurring fee. Some popular examples are Loot Crate, Blue Apron, and Dollar Shave Club.
The subscription box business model has a handful of benefits. It has a low barrier to entry, low customer retention costs, and it’s actually fun to do.
To make your subscription box business more manageable, use a platform like Cratejoy.
24. Make money on WordPress with WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source, eCommerce software developed specifically for WordPress.
It’s actually a versatile platform that can help you sell anything from physical products to virtual goods. But if you have the resources and the passion for selling, you’d use it to build a full-on eCommerce business.
That’s where the big money is.
Not confident enough in your technical savviness to take the first step? Don’t fret — most of the components you need can be seamlessly integrated with extensions.
This includes payment processing, shipping, store management, and analytics.
25. Sweeten your deals with coupons
Whatever you’re selling, one way to supercharge your sales is to offer discount coupons to readers.
Who doesn’t want to save money on their online purchases?
In any case, this strategy is particularly effective if the reader is already eyeing a product for some time. The coupon only gives them a tiny push towards making a purchase.
If you want to use coupons with affiliate marketing, check out the affiliate programs of sites like Coupons.com.
26. Create a “Resources” page with affiliate products
To give your affiliate products a bit more exposure, consider creating a “Resources” page on your blog.
It’s essentially a resource page that rounds up all the tools you’d recommend to your readers — affiliate products or not.
There are just two rules you need to remember when writing it.
First, make sure the page still contains a healthy amount of informative content to keep it SEO-friendly. And second, insert a disclosure that some or all of the links on the page are affiliate links.
27. Sell products or services on your blog better with chatbots
For busy bloggers, unanswered product or service queries — be it through email or direct messaging — are huge missed opportunities.
Asking a question, after all, signals strong purchase intent.
By building your own chatbot, you can automate responses to your visitors. Depending on how the conversation goes, it’ll then lead them to the appropriate service page, affiliate product, and so on.
The best thing about chatbots is how easy they are to build today. With a tool like Landbot.io, you can have an AI-powered chatbot on your site without ever touching code.
Advertising
If you Google “how do blogs make money,” chances are you’ll find posts that mention the word “advertising.”
You just can’t have a list of blog monetization strategies without it.
Here are a few ways to start making those ad dollars:
28. Contextual advertising with Google AdSense
Google AdSense is the biggest advertising network on the planet, and it’s the best place to start with contextual advertising.
Contextual advertising is when the product being promoted is related and relevant to the content being consumed. These ads can be displayed on a website, search engine results page, and videos.
29. Sell advertising space on your website
Another way to monetize a blog with advertising is to rent out ad space.
Ads displayed with this method are often called “flat-fee ads.”
To invite brands to advertise on your page, create an “Advertise Here” page. You can also join websites like BuySellAds to actively reach out to advertisers.
30. Cost per mille advertising with other ad networks
If you regularly get thousands of blog visitors, you could make a killing with “cost per mille” or CPM ads.
In a nutshell, you make money from a CPM campaign whenever an ad is displayed 1,000 times.
It doesn’t matter whether or not the ad generates click-throughs, sales, or leads. As long as the ad gets shown a thousand times on your site, you can get paid.
Other than Google AdSense, check out ad networks like Hilltop Ads to dive into CPM advertising.
31. Use monetized widgets
You can combine affiliate marketing with advertising through monetized widgets.
For example, let’s say you’re a part of Amazon Associates. They can help you integrate a responsive widget into your website that promotes affiliate products.
It looks and functions like a banner ad, but you’ll end up receiving affiliate commissions with every sale.
32. Advertise through emails
Struggling to generate sales on your blog?
By linking to product pages via email, you can target users who are already familiar with your brand. You can also leave links to regular posts with in-text affiliate links or ads — the main thing is traffic generation.
This should help you achieve higher conversions and more sales as a result.
Just bear in mind that affiliate networks like Amazon Associates prohibit the insertion of affiliate links in emails.
Also, don’t forget to add something meaningful to your emails whenever you broadcast them. You don’t want to be the brand that constantly annoys subscribers with salesy emails.
33. Pop-up advertising
No matter what others may say, pop-up advertising isn’t dead.
It boils down to how pop-ups behave on your site. Exit-intent pop-ups, for example, are far less intrusive — reducing abandonment rate while boosting sales at the same time.
To get into pop-up advertising, look for ad networks like Hilltop Ads that support this practice.
You can also design your own pop-ups to increase the sales of your own products or services. All you have to do is build a pop-up that redirects traffic to your sales pages.
Whatever you do, be careful when using automatic pop-ups that cover your blog’s main content. This practice is penalizable by Google since it can ruin the user experience, especially on mobile devices.
34. Create a down-selling pop-up
Advising customers to purchase a less expensive product over a more expensive one may sound crazy. But in some cases, it’s your best bet when it comes to closing a sale.
A down-selling pop-up can convince customers who are about to leave a sales page to push through with a purchase.
Picture this scenario: a user arrives at your sales page and is captivated by your service or product’s features. But by the time they reach the “pricing” section, they were turned off.
Upon clicking the “close” button, a down-selling popup swoops in and presents them with a cheaper alternative. It can also be a different pricing plan with a lower upfront cost, a freebie inclusion, or a special discount.
35. Advertise through images
Image advertising is a lesser-known monetization strategy, but it works all the same.
I’m not just talking about visual content that promotes your product or service. With the help of companies like AdMedia, you can create in-image overlay ads that enable the monetization of your visuals.
The advantage of this tactic rides on the fact that images are naturally more eye-catching than plain text. And since overlay ads are displayed on top of in-post images, they’re less disruptive to the user experience.
36. Advertise in your podcasts
If podcasts are a regular part of your content strategy, you may insert ads to maximize their money-making potential.
AdvertiseCast can help connect you with hundreds of advertisers, including big-name brands like Nike and PayPal. The platform can then dynamically insert 30-60 second ads at the beginning of your podcast or somewhere in the middle.
As for your compensation, you can make between $15 to $25 per impression based on the type of ads.
37. Show ads via a URL shortener service
If you really want to maximize your ad revenue, consider using a link shortener service like Adf.ly.
Rather than taking users directly to a destination page, a shortened link will display an ad first. You then get paid based on the number of people who use your shortened links.
A shortener is typically used on important links that are most likely to get clicks, particularly “download” links.
There are, however, two things to note regarding URL shorteners. Apart from the likelihood of low payouts, link shortener ads may also harm the user experience.
My advice is to use it only if you have tons of traffic and user retention has never been a problem for you.
38. Monetize your RSS feed with ads
First of all, RSS feeds aren’t dead.
And yes — you can monetize it by displaying banner ads to your readers.
An RSS feed automatically aggregates and displays new content, which can be displayed as headlines or even whole posts. It’s like having a social media feed on your website in a compact and non-intrusive way.
Working with Other Brands
In blogging, generating passive income is the dream — the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
But, sometimes, you simply can’t afford to wait for your passive income strategies to take off.
If you have time to spare, you may want to consider the earning opportunities below:
39. Content writing for other websites
Since you’re a blogger, it’s safe to assume that you have a knack for web content writing.
There are websites out there that could use a hand from you.
Once you amass a decent readership, you may receive offers from brands looking for help. If not, you can also seek them out via freelancing marketplaces like Upwork and use your blog as a portfolio.
40. Editing for other websites
Interested in writing content for other websites?
If you think that’s too time-consuming for you, how about editing them instead?
Yes — professional bloggers are often more than qualified for part-time content editing positions. Once a prospect sees your blog’s polished, error-free content, all that’s left to do is agree on your fees.
41. Turn your blog into a portfolio for other part-time opportunities
Still waiting for your blog traffic to take off?
Why not take more part-time jobs in the meantime?
In which case, your blog can be your most valuable asset to land more side gigs. Just use it as a portfolio and showcase your best work, be it in writing, photography, design, and so on.
I also recommend using a plugin like the Hire Me Widget. This immediately informs prospects if you’re available for hire or not once they arrive.
42. Run sponsored giveaways
If your blog generates enough traffic, you may receive offers from relevant brands to run a sponsored giveaway.
This is a great opportunity to reinforce your relationship with readers while also bolstering your online presence.
However, putting up a sign that says “I’m accepting sponsors” on your website won’t be enough. To find sponsors, you should also show initiative and reach out to prospective brands yourself.
You may need to send emails, connect with them on social media, or even give them a phone call. If your blog is big enough, there are bound to be brands that are willing to work with you.
43. Get paid for sponsored tweets
Blogging and social media marketing go hand in hand.
And if you happen to excel in both, more monetization doors will be open for you.
Making money through sponsored tweets is a good example. Use your blog to build an audience, turn them into Twitter followers, and then find sponsors with platforms like SponsoredTweets.
44. Get paid to write guest posts
Guest posting isn’t just a crucial part of modern SEO.
With the right publications, you may also get paid for your content writing efforts.
You may need to do a little digging to find websites in your niche that offer fair compensation for contributions.
For instance, if you’re an eCommerce blogger, a potential publication to consider would be eCommerce Insiders. If you can meet their editorial guidelines, you can get paid up to $150 per article over 600 words.
45. Request payment for guest posts
While some blogs pay for guest posts, others actually require payments from contributors.
These are blogs that cater to other websites’ link-building needs. As such, your website needs to have solid SEO metrics to do the same.
If your blog can provide quality backlinks, the average price of a guest post is around $50. Top websites, however, charge $100 or more per guest post.
46. Use your blog to build and monetize your reach on Instagram
Just like Twitter, bloggers can make money on Instagram through sponsorships from relevant brands.
It may not be as profitable in certain niches. But for industries like fashion and food blogging, being an Instagram influencer is definitely lucrative.
To give you an idea, here’s a sponsored Instagram post by food blog Pinch of Yum:
47. Do the same with Pinterest
In terms of monetization, Pinterest can also give you the opportunities you can get from Instagram and Twitter.
Apart from sponsored pins and ads, you can also create “buyable pins” that enable users to directly make purchases.
And to my fellow affiliate marketers out there, the answer is yes — you can also share affiliate links on Pinterest.
Lastly, don’t forget to leverage your blog’s reach to win more followers on Pinterest. You can do this by linking to your Pinterest business page and embedding pins as well as boards in your posts.
48. Paid promotions on Facebook
Due to its massive user base, Facebook is the social media platform of choice for many bloggers.
If you have a lot of followers or group members on Facebook, you can also make money through paid promotions. This could be anything from paid surveys, product launches, events, giveaways, and holiday sales.
49. Make money with press trips
For travel or restaurant bloggers who are still clueless about monetization, let me tell you about press trips.
Put simply, a press trip is an arranged trip wherein an influencer is invited to a known destination or establishment.
Typically, press trips are all-expenses-paid. All the influencer or blogger has to do in return is to share their experience with their followers.
50. Become a social media moderator
Work-from-home social media moderators are more common than ever in today’s hyperconnected world.
Social media moderators, or “mods” for short, fulfill various tasks like regulating comments and managing direct messages.
If you have an active blog, you can use it as leverage when applying as a social media moderator.
As much as possible, look for non-competitor brands in your niche to form connections and improve your credibility. These will surely help further your blogging career in the long run.
51. Design graphics for a fee
If you’re a one-man blogger, you may have some experience designing various graphics on your site. It could be your logo, blog featured images, social media posts, or infographics.
You can lend your design skills to other website owners to make a quick buck.
Furthermore, this will give you a chance to hone your visual content development skills. Perhaps it’s your ticket to cutting through the content noise and standing out in your blogging niche.
52. Send sponsored emails
There are countless ways to come up with sponsorship arrangements with brands.
Another proven formula is to spread a brand’s message via a sponsored email campaign.
It’s not rocket science: a brand gives you money, you give them exposure with your blog’s mailing list.
For the email’s content, the brand often provides the whole copy, which you may edit to a degree. In the blogosphere, these sponsored emails are also called “solo ads.”
You’re more likely to obtain sponsorships for emails if you already have an active campaign with engaged subscribers. That said, I suggest devising plans to grow your mailing list first before you seek out email sponsorships.
53. Charge for mentions in your podcasts
Aside from ad insertion and asking listeners to pay for podcasts, there’s another monetization strategy you can consider.
Regardless if your podcast is free or paid, you can monetize it through sponsored mentions.
Think of them as radio commercials where you mention a brand’s product or service in exchange for payment.
Just focus on building your podcast and growing your audience. If your podcast is already getting a lot of attention, brands may also come to you with their own proposals.
54. Charge your podcast guests
While the practice of charging podcast guests has generated mixed opinions, no one can deny its profitability. This is especially true for brands that regularly hosts podcast shows to thousands of listeners.
A good reason to charge podcast guests is to avoid no-shows.
Again, this only applies to bloggers who consistently roll out podcast episodes without fail. After all, hosting a regular podcast show does come with costs.
If you plan to charge a guest for their podcast appearance, ensure that you disclose it one way or another. You should also think twice about charging guests whom you’ve reached out to as it may immediately put them off.
Instead, only charge potential podcast guests who sought you out themselves in hopes of promoting on your platform.
55. Paid product placements and endorsements in your videos
Some blogs, particularly in the tech, fashion, and food industries, make money by including paid product endorsements in their videos.
Unlike regular ad overlays, a paid product endorsement is usually made a part of the actual video itself. In most cases, the blogger creates a video around a relevant topic and then promotes the product as a solution.
If you’re doing paid product placements on YouTube and certain video streaming platforms, don’t forget to add a full disclosure. Tell your audience that you’re working with the brand being mentioned — it should keep you away from trouble.
56. Manage other websites
Having fun running and managing your own blog?
How about managing someone else’s blog for profit?
For this opportunity, you can easily prove your qualifications with the state of your own website alone. The downside is, being a freelance website manager could steal time away from your blogging tasks.
Bear in mind that managing a website involves a ton of responsibilities. You need to be hands-on with the site’s content strategy, SEO, performance optimization, security, community, and more.
57. Become a part-time website tester
If you’ve been blogging for a while, you should know a thing or two about usability.
There are companies in need of someone like you to evaluate the user experience on their websites.
You can do this independently and forge partnerships yourself. What’s important here is to optimize your website first and use it to draw the attention of prospects.
But if you want the faster way to gain clients, you may work with websites like Userfeel.
58. Earn money through referrals
While “Pay Per Lead” affiliate programs already exist, you can also work with companies through a more direct arrangement.
For example, suppose you constantly interact with your blog audience through emails or your website’s forum section. In which, you are sometimes asked about product or service recommendations for whatever objective your users have.
Another company or blogger can pay you for every lead you send their way — with or without an affiliate link. You just need to work out the details of your arrangement with your partner beforehand.
59. Make money with the Medium Partner Program
A blogger’s purpose is and always will be to provide information and ideas that will benefit readers.
Medium understands this, which is why they offer a program that financially rewards you for your content submissions.
After you get into their program, you can promote your blog to your Medium readers and vice versa.
60. Publish articles on HubPages
Relying solely on your blog can make it difficult to build a readership.
Other than Medium, you can also piggyback the audience base of HubPages to get the ball rolling.
Since HubPages contributors make money through ads, don’t hesitate to promote your submissions on your blog and social media accounts. Of course, you should also promote your blog on HubPages.
What makes HubPages particularly interesting is the fact that it’s not just a single site. Rather, it’s a network of niche-specific websites.
That means you can also get quality traffic to your website since their interests match your blog content.
61. Generate recurring revenue with Ghost
If you’re looking for a Medium alternative but don’t want to rely on ads for revenue, give Ghost a shot.
The money you make from Ghost depends on your readership on the platform. Apart from ads, you earn with premium memberships offered through their site.
62. Charge for cross-promotion opportunities
For established bloggers with a respectable online reach, accepting paid cross-promotion offers can a profitable monetization opportunity.
Cross-promotion is the practice between two brands where they promote each other on their respective sites. But if your blog can provide more value in terms of traffic and exposure, you may charge for the collaboration.
If you want to monetize this strategy, the key is to look for smaller websites compared to yours.
63. Earn money for category sponsorships
Sponsored content is, indeed, a suitable monetization strategy for the average blog. But for websites with a large pool of content across various categories, even category pages can make money through sponsorships.
Yes — an entire category page dedicated to one sponsor.
This is ideal for companies since it allows them to laser-target their promotions to readers with specific interests. As for the compensation, rest assured that a category sponsorship has a higher payout than a regular sponsored post.
64. Offer a web page for rent
If renting out an entire category page is too much for you, start small with just a regular page.
Let’s say you have a page that gets thousands of traffic per month from various channels. However, you’re struggling to monetize it because it serves a user intent that doesn’t align with your brand offerings.
You can have another company pay you for renting it instead. And by renting, I mean you’ll redirect its traffic to the other company’s website for a set time period.
65. Run a sponsored poll or survey
A lot of businesses need to extract user feedback and insights, but don’t have the online reach to do so.
If you have an established audience base on your blog or social media, you may make money by running surveys sponsored by a partner brand.
Sponsored surveys tend to have higher response rates than random ones that appear on websites. Not only are such surveys sent to existing followers, they also appear more organic and less like ads.
66. Send out sponsored posts to your RSS feed subscribers
For websites with a subscription-based RSS feed, you can look for sponsors who’d like to tap into your subscriber base.
It will help you steadily generate revenue as long as you have a lot of subscribers. The only obstacle is, companies who are willing to advertise through RSS feeds are slightly harder to find these days.
67. Collaborate on a webinar
Working with another brand or blogger in a collaborative webinar project has many advantages.
For one, you essentially double your brand’s reach since both parties should be in charge of promoting the webinar. For this, you and your partner may share an email list each, which you can both keep for future promotions.
For example, if each blogger has 200 subscribers before your collaboration, both end up with 400 subscribers after the webinar. Win-win.
Indirect Blog Monetization Strategies
Sometimes, blog monetization can occur outside of your site.
The following strategies may require more preparations than direct website monetization, but they can certainly help fatten your bank account.
68. Develop your own app or turn your website into one
If you’re a somewhat knowledgeable developer, you can invest your time and energy into a homebrewed mobile app.
The typical route is to offer a free version of the app and then offer paid versions as upgrades. And just like online courses, apps can then be sold either for a one-time payment or recurring subscription fee.
A lot of blogs also take the easy road and simply convert their websites into functional mobile apps. If you have no idea where to start, check out platforms like AppsGeyser and Appy Pie.
69. Create an exclusive members area on your blog
When publishing gated content, plenty of bloggers also offer exclusive “members area” access as a bonus.
This area usually takes the form of a forum where members can share ideas, ask questions, and simply socialize. If you use WordPress, you can get one up and running with a membership plugin like MemberPress.
70. Create a closed, paid-only Facebook group
You can also create an exclusive Facebook group to give members a platform to communicate with you and among themselves.
As you may already know, I practice this strategy myself with the private Master Blogging Community on Facebook. It’s where I frequently interact with you guys — my loyal readers — and try to provide as much value as possible.
Of course, you can also benefit from this strategy by collecting feedback, asking for suggestions, and promoting new articles.
71. Ask for donations via Patreon
Some people are more willing to give donations as long as it’s facilitated by a platform they trust.
Patreon, for example, is a trusted brand that helps website owners, creators, gamers, and nonprofits build funds through donations. It’s essentially a tool that can help you build and scale a membership business from scratch.
Another advantage of using Patreon is that fans don’t see their contributions merely as donations. Instead, these “patrons” think of their contributions almost as payment for the creators’ hard work.
That’s a big difference compared to users who don’t have a clear reason to click your “Donate” PayPal button.
72. Take on public speaking gigs
Establishing yourself as an authority in your niche has numerous perks.
For one, you get occasional invitations to public speaking engagements.
Although well-known thought leaders probably get paid handsomely for speaking engagements, they’re not exactly a reliable source of income. After all, not all public speaking gigs are actually paid.
On the plus side, you’re guaranteed to get positive exposure for speaking.
If you’d rather take charge and find potential speaking gigs yourself, use a tool like Agent. It works by helping aspiring speakers connect with decision-makers in thousands of events across various industries.
Just remember: the more popular your blog, the easier it is to book a speaking gig.
73. Use your blog to promote your offline event
If you’re already an experienced public speaker, you don’t have to wait for the right event to come to you.
Go out there and plan your own offline event.
It’s not exactly the easiest blog monetization strategy, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most rewarding. In addition to its benefits on your web traffic and community, a successful event pretty much cements your brand’s authority.
74. Use your blog to promote your parking space for rent
For website owners who live in the metro, you can rent your driveway to make money on the side. Assuming, of course, you don’t own a vehicle yourself.
This monetization tactic may not be applicable to everyone, but it works. You can also sign up on websites like Pavemint to make your parking space more visible to their mobile users.
75. Launch a paid newsletter series
Newsletters are versatile tools that can be used for content promotions, lead generation, and general communication with an audience.
For some bloggers, it’s also used as a vehicle for monetization.
Paid newsletters aren’t new, but not everyone finds success with them. If you want to launch your own, be sure each newsletter offers a substantial amount of engaging and useful information.
For ideas and inspiration, look at websites that did paid newsletters right, including Cleaning the Glass and Stratechery.
76. Turn your blog into a business and attract investors
Here’s a quick fact: unless you consider your blog a business, you won’t achieve sustainable success with any monetization strategy.
You can take this to the next level by embedding an actual startup idea on your website.
For instance, with some work, you can transform your blog into a full-fledged SaaS business website. You just need to package and present your idea to potential backers.
Looking for inspiration? If you have the time to do research, take a look at ongoing projects on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter.
77. Sell your customized blog theme
If you developed a custom theme for your website, be it with a team or by yourself, consider selling it.
This practice is common among bloggers who use WordPress, which is the most popular, open-source blogging platform around.
Of course, not every blogger is capable of cooking up their own custom-developed theme. But if you did, then clean up the code, package it, and sell it on marketplaces like ThemeForest.
78. Sell your stock photography
You don’t necessarily need to be a photography blogger to make some money with your stock photos.
I know a lot of blogs that take their own photos and use them on their blogs, often as featured images. This is more common in niches like cooking, travel, tech, fitness, and photography.
If you do the same, you can make some cash by selling your original photos on websites like Getty Images.
79. Stream on Twitch
If your blogging work involves stream-worthy activities, like playing musical instruments or video games, you can make a living on Twitch.
To those of you who aren’t familiar with the platform, Twitch is the home of millions of streamers. And on the site, the content they stream is referred to as “shared experiences.”
For monetization, a Twitch streamer’s options are to display ads, charge a subscription fee, and ask for donations. Viewers can also support a streamer by purchasing and using “Bits,” which are visual emotes used in “Cheers” during broadcasts.
Since traffic is vital to the profitability of your Twitch channel, leverage your blog’s traffic to gain more viewers. You can also use the Twitch for WordPress plugin to give your blog readers a direct line to your streams.
80. Contribute to Canva
Are you skilled in graphic design tools like Adobe Illustrator?
Why not try becoming a contributor on Canva?
In simple terms, Canva is a cloud-based graphic design tool that allows anyone to whip up designs in minutes. It features a drag-and-drop interface where users simply need to mix and match free and paid assets.
As a contributor, you can begin earning royalties as soon as a user purchases your submissions. This is why it’s a good idea to start promoting your design endeavors on your blog.
Introduce your readers to Canva and promote your assets. The more exposure they get, the easier they are to sell.
81. Build and sell your own WordPress plugin
I’ll just leave this here for bloggers who are knowledgeable in PHP.
By creating and selling WordPress plugins, you can start generating passive income on your website. To maximize sales, don’t forget to promote your plugin on marketplaces like CodeCanyon.
Know a little PHP but not sure where to start? There are tons of resources out there that can help you develop your own WordPress plugins.
I suggest starting with the official post about writing a plugin on the WordPress codex.
82. Automate emails to previous customers
Most modern email marketing services like ActiveCampaign allow you to configure automated re-engagement emails to past customers.
You can automate emails that contain discount codes, links to products, or a reminder for customers to renew a subscription. Since they’ve already experienced purchasing from you before, they should be more receptive to whatever offer you have in store.
Take note that you’re not only getting more sales with this tactic. It’s also an effective way to retain your customer base and keep the cash flowing.
83. Automate upselling emails to new customers
Here’s a quick way to squeeze more money from your customers.
If they recently bought something, they could still be in a shopping mood. You can capitalize on this by automating an upselling email that contains related products or possible upgrades to their purchase.
Again, you can have an upselling email workflow configured in a snap with a capable email marketing platform.
84. Send cart abandonment emails to recover lost sales
For bloggers engaged in eCommerce, cart abandonment is a huge deal.
Automating a cart abandonment email is a reliable way to recover lost sales and maximize your income.
As the name suggests, automated cart abandonment emails are sent whenever customers leave your site with items in their cart.
In some cases, customers simply lost interest in the products they were looking at. However, users also abandon their carts for reasons like losing internet connection, a slow loading website, and so on.
An automated cart abandonment email gives them a more convenient way to check out and hand you their money.
85. Encourage subscribers to purchase with birthday discounts
If you’re selling products on your website, it pays to know when your customers are most likely to shop.
One such date is on the customer’s birthday, which is one of the details you can capture through lead generation.
Just like upselling and cart abandonment emails, a birthday email can be easily automated with most email marketing platforms. Powerful tools like ActiveCampaign have ready-to-use cart abandonment triggers you can add to your workflow in seconds.
86. Crowdfund your podcast
More and more podcasters now utilize crowdfunding to support their business and profit in the process.
If you already accept contributions via Patreon, make it a point to remind your podcast listeners about it. To get more support, come up with incentives like extra episodes, exclusive access to a live Q&A session, and more.
87. Try your hands in website flipping
Familiar with house flipping
You buy a house, boost its value through repairs and renovations, sell it at a higher price, and start over.
Website flipping is quite similar. Only this time, you purchase, improve, and sell online properties.
Truth be told, website flipping involves a tremendous amount of work. But once you understand how the system works, it can be an incredibly profitable endeavor.
A website that generates revenue can fetch an insanely high price. On marketplaces like Flippa, you can easily find sites being sold for millions of dollars.
88. Buy and sell empty domains
Domain flipping is fundamentally similar to website flipping. The main difference is, you start by purchasing domain names without an actual site attached to them.
You can maximize your profits by purchasing a potential domain and building a functional website on top of it. You may also invest in the site’s SEO health to further raise its value.
Another strategy is to buy and hold on to empty domain names that may increase in value over time. For this strategy, look for domains that are short, brandable, memorable, and have decent SEO metrics.
89. Sell your blog
A quick reminder before you even think about selling your blog for profit:
Only do it as a last resort.
You may not be entirely happy with the results you’re getting from your website. There’s also the possibility that you just want to start from a clean slate in a new niche.
For those reasons, selling your blog is a perfectly reasonable decision. And to do so, head to marketplaces like Flippa and Empire Flippers.
Make Money Blogging – Frequently Asked Questions
Can all blogs be monetized?
Yes. It doesn’t matter if a blog is built with WordPress, Wix, or whatever platform you used. As long as a blog generates enough traffic, monetization can come with the right tactics.
How much money can bloggers make?
Bloggers can make over $100,000 per month. For top bloggers like Ramit Sethi, even $5 million in one week is possible. Of course, don’t expect to make six figures in your first few months or years — just be patient and you’ll get there.
What are the best ways to monetize a blog?
My favorite ways to monetize a blog are affiliate marketing, selling products or services, and being a consultant for hire. Advertising is also one of the most popular strategies, but it requires lots of traffic before you make serious money.
How do bloggers get paid?
Bloggers get paid through various means, like checks, wire transfers, and gift cards. The most popular route, however, is to receive payments via a processor like PayPal.
What about the expenses of being a blogger?
For the average blogger, the answer is two words:
Almost non-existent.
Other than your web hosting plan, you may occasionally pay for visual content, page design, plugins, and marketing tools.
As a blogger, the only reason to worry about expenses is if you also run an eCommerce store.
When do you outsource?
Let’s face it, the challenges of growing a blog are too big for a single pair of hands to handle. Whenever you feel like out of your depth, be it designing infographics or doing SEO, feel free to outsource away.
Conclusion
Ready to start monetizing your blog?
If I were you, I’d create a list of the top blog monetization strategies you’d like to try out.
Work your way from top to bottom while focusing on one thing at a time. Be persistent and I guarantee that blogging success will come.
Good luck!
