Blogs can be a great way to get your content out there and write about something you love. You can also use them to attract visitors to your site and build your brand exposure. But blogs can also be a great money-earner in themselves. If you’ve got a great site and want to generate income, read on to find out 5 ways to start earning from your blog.

1. Direct advertising

Direct advertising is a brilliant way to start earning from your blog. If your blog has high traffic and quality user-experience, you may find that you get direct offers from businesses looking to advertise. If not, you’ll need to research businesses relevant to your blog and pitch to them.

Although a great way to generate income, bloggers often find the terms of direct advertising restrictive. So make sure you read all the small print before you commit to a deal.

2. Affiliate marketing

Using your blog for affiliate marketing is another great way to get the money rolling in. Usually, the blogger puts an advert or link for a third-party’s product on their site. If their readers like the look of the product or offer, they can click through and make a purchase. This means that the business makes a sale and the blogger gets a cut of the profit.

For your blog affiliate marketing to be successful, you need to make sure that the products you’re advertising are relevant to your blog. So for example, if you’ve got a home improvement blog, advertising products like paint, furniture and service providers would be a good shout.

There are lots of different affiliate programs available, so make sure you pick one that suits you and your blog.

3. Paid reviews

If your blog is popular and attracts high levels of traffic, you might get approached by businesses asking you to review their products. Consider charging for these reviews to increase the income you generate. How much you can justify charging will depend on how popular your blog is. You might have to start off with a fairly low rate and increase it as your blog attracts more and more traffic.

4. Market your content

Another way to start earning from your blog is to begin selling your content. Obviously, you want your main bulk of blog content to be available to everyone – that’s how you’ll attract more visitors to your site. But try producing further content and offering it as an eBook for a small price. If you’ve got a large and loyal fan-base, the chances are that they’ll be happy to spend a little for some exclusive content. You might not earn much from your first eBook, but you could end up earning more and more with future offers.

5. Sell your skills

If you’ve got a popular blog, the chances are that you might be seriously good at things like:

  • Content creation
  • Social media management
  • Website design and development
  • Blog migration

Offer your skills on your site and, if your readers are truly impressed with your blog, you might find you can earn a significant amount helping other businesses and bloggers with their sites.

So there are plenty of ways to start earning from your blog. Make sure that you pick the technique that best suits you and your blog so you can maximise your income and don’t feel restricted. And whatever method you choose, try to make sure it doesn’t have too much of an impact on the way you write and your relationship with your readers. Don’t forget that, ultimately, attracting and retaining readers effectively is the key to your blog’s success.

Got any of your own tips on how to start earning from your blog? Tweet us @LeadsDoWork