Monetizing your blog can be a benefit to both you and your readers. When you share your tools and resources, you help your audience in their own pursuits. And rest assured that you don’t have to become a pushy salesperson to make a little money with your blog.
It can be a real challenge to make money from a blog with no traffic. So if you’re just starting out, aim for slow and steady. You aren’t going to get rich overnight and you’ll be more effective at building trust in a loyal follower base.
Monetizing your website by offering products and services
You can start by giving your audience access to your expertise and products. In addition to the direct value, you’ll also boost awareness, establish authority, and demonstrate reliability.
However, be aware that you’ll need a strong value proposition to differentiate you and your offerings from the pack.
Products and services could include coaching, member communities, freelance editing or writing, ebooks, online or in-person learning opportunities, done-for-you services, templates, or workbooks.
Making affiliate income with your blog
Bloggers can make money by recommending a product or service in exchange for a commission. It’s important to note that purchasers would pay the same price whether or not they use your referral link. However, you must disclose affiliate links as a legal requirement in many countries.
The easiest way to determine affiliate opportunities is to review the products you use and check their website. Many stores and software companies offer referral programs. There are also affiliate networks, such as ShareaSale, Rakuten, Amazon Associates, and more, that represent multiple brands.
Posting ads on your website
Companies like AdSense or Infolinks will pay you when someone from your audience clicks their ad on your website. Signing up for the programs is generally free and as simple as pasting a code into your webpages.
The downsides to these programs are that you may not be able to choose which ads are displayed on your website. Additionally, your website should have quite a few visitors to ensure significant income.
Financial incentives for sponsored blog posts
Brands that align with your own may approach you to write a blog post about their products and services. These sponsored posts will generally include a specific item as well as a specified word count and number of images.
To make yourself available for these opportunities, you may join an influencer network or pitch companies directly. On occasion, the brand will approach you directly to collaborate. With any of these, ensure you have a well-written and clearly defined contract to ensure both sides hold up their end of the deal.
Crowdfunding your GradBlog’s financial goals
Many bloggers will include a simple call-to-action to their blog: donate. You could ask your readers to buy you a coffee or a beer, offer patron-only benefits, or just ask for a pay-what-you-will contribution to keep the blog afloat.Â
PayPal offers a WordPress plugin for donations with free and Pro versions. Signing up for Buy Me A Coffee is free, although they do charge a 5% transaction fee, and provides the participant with a shareable link. Patreon is a membership model that provides a creator page where you can share patron-only benefits for a 5-12% commission plus transaction fees.
Small business grants for your GradBlog
While many academics are accustomed to applying for grants for their research, they may be eligible for small business grants, too. Grants and funding may be available from local and federal organizations, as well as startup communities and seed funds.
Most grants have an application process and eligibility requirements, as well as a reporting procedure. Good places to start looking for grants are websites like canada.ca or grants.gov.
Successful blog monetization requires an audience
Success won’t be overnight and the money won’t come in buckets, though successful bloggers can bring in significant funds. Each of these options provides a starting point for your GradBlog.
Effectively making money from promoting your blog, website, and business means cultivating and maintaining relationships. You’ll have to bring an audience to your efforts and give them a reason to value your engagement.
To learn more about audience building, check out these GradBlogger podcast episodes:
