In this day and age, it should come as no surprise that it is possible to turn a hobby blog or website into a legitimate source of income. It is possible to make enough money off your website to offset a few day-to-day bills, and it is also possible to make enough money to completely replace your day job, turning your site into your main source of income.
If this sounds like something you would like to do, there are a few strategies that will help you quickly get your website on track and make your own money making website. These strategies range from those that require tons of work to accomplish to those that are easy and relatively passive. The end goal in either scenario is the same: you want to make your very own money-making website. Just be sure to pick something that will suit your personal and brand style and you will be well on your way to making that money!
BEST WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WITH YOUR WEBSITE
Over the years, people have tried several different methods to make money with their sites. These are the ones that have proven the most effective:
1. AFFILIATE MARKETING
This had to make the top of my list. And for good reason. I regard affiliate marketing as one of the most effective methods to make money from your blog or website. It is straightforward, and with some basic knowledge and lots of effort it can potentially make you more money than you can imagine.
The beauty of affiliate marketing lies in the fact that once you get the hang of it, you are on your way. As an affiliate, you earn a commission for promoting someone else’s product or service. It is simple and inexpensive to set up, and for a lot of people, it has proven to be the perfect source of passive income.
This marketing strategy works well for niche websites that have lots of traffic. This is what makes it easy to find products to recommend to your readers.
The first step to being a successful affiliate is finding a product you really like, and one that would benefit your readers or followers. Finding the product is the hard part. Once you have done this, simply let your readers know about the product you have found and the rest is up to them!
To begin, endorse the chosen product on your website using your affiliate links. This action promotes the product to your website’s visitors and email subscribers. If you get this right, many of your clients will click the affiliate links to purchase the recommended product.
The commission you get will depend on the retailers you choose to work with. It might be anywhere between 5% to 70% of the product or service price. A higher percentage means that you make more money, but it does not necessarily mean that the product is better than its competitors. So be sure to strike a good balance between profit and quality. An important rule of thumb in affiliate marketing is to never recommend a product you have never used yourself. The other rule is to never promote a product to your readers just because it has a good commission. This is a sure way to fail at affiliate marketing. Always look out for your customers first, and your wallet second.
Check out this article I wrote about What Affiliate marketing is and how it works
2. SELL A DIGITAL PRODUCT
A good example of a digital product is an eBook. Selling your own product directly to your customers has the potential to earn you a lot of money in profits. The reasons behind this is that there are no middlemen, you are actively involved in regulating the product. No one takes a cut from the money you make (or at least not a huge cut).
However, taking this path to monetize your website is not all that simple. In reality, selling your products directly to your customers has its own constraints. First, it will take you a good amount of time and resources to create and refine your product. For instance, when you are selling eBooks, you will have to create unique content and edit the material. Refining the products and/or services is crucial when you are selling them.
There are other problematic issues like payment pathways, taxes and customer service requests. If this does not sound hectic enough, you will also require an engaging and persuasive landing page to make sure that your product posts strong conversion rates.
However, when you get the hang of it, it is a great source of online income.
3. PAID ADS (GOOGLE ADSENSE)
AdSense allows publishers, including bloggers and website owners, to tap into Google’s advertising powers and allow other advertisers to have ads on their sites.
All you have to do to use this service is sign up. Once this is done, Google takes over everything else. Google will add a simple, unique code on your website that will identify your content’s category. Advertisements relevant to the category can then be displayed on your website.
For example, if your site is about cars, Google AdSense show your visitors ads for car dealers or car parts. You will get paid every time someone clicks on the ad. It is that easy!
Your payment might be anywhere from $0.03 to a few bucks per click (this is rare). The amount of income depends on the kind of traffic your site boasts. Generally speaking, you will not make a ton of money with adsense unless you have thousands of visitors.
4. SELL AD SPACE ON YOUR WEBSITE
Using Google AdSense can be great for your website, but the amount of money you stand to make is often not sustainable unless you have massive amounts of traffic every month. Selling ad space on your website can make you even more money.
Companies will pay you really well for your website’s real estate. You can sell your ad space directly to companies that are looking to sponsor various blogs. Since you are selling the space, you get to set the price for the individual ad spaces.
You get paid depending on the traffic your blog or website gets. This is typically quoted as a dollar amount per one thousand impressions (CPM). You might see this as $6CPM. If your website gets 50,000 visits a month, the ad price translates to $300.
This approach is advantageous to your website if it gets a significant amount of traffic from different sources. When this is the case, your simple banner can get up to a few thousand dollars per month!
Another common method to use when pricing your ad space is direct pricing. Simply quote a price based on the relative price your competition is charging or what you think it’s worth. This price is just a simple flat fee and not linked to the Cost Per Click.
This method is only viable after you have established your site as an authority and gained a significant amount of traffic!
5. SPONSORED POSTS AND ARTICLES
Before using this avenue to increase your website’s income, you will first have to build your following. A large enough number of readers simply means more traffic. You will, therefore, have to get those numbers up. The higher the number of committed readers you have, the more attractive your site will be to companies that offer sponsored content.
Building steady traffic puts your site on the radar of companies that offer sponsored content. Many such companies search for blogs that have huge traffic to feature their sponsored content. This native advertising technique works because their content lines up with the content you already offer.
You can also create product reviews for a company’s products in an advertorial that is part content and part advertisement. This will increase the products’ sales through the use of your traffic. You will then get paid for this.
This situation creates a win-win scenario if it is done in the right manner. If not, everything can go south, and you will be seen as posting irrelevant, inauthentic content which will surely erode the rapport you took so much time to build with your readers in the first place.
6. BUILD AN EMAIL LIST
A common saying among internet marketers is that your email list is where all your money is. And this is true for various reasons.
Your email list is made up of all your loyal readers who have made the choice to willingly subscribe to what you have to say.
To build the list, your goal/objective will be to convince as many curious strangers who visit your site for the first time, turning them into avid readers of your content. The goal is to keep them hooked, making them want to listen to what you have to say on future occasions. Make them want to stay up to speed with your latest content. This means you need to create amazing content!
However, this is a long-term approach if you are looking to steadily build your website’s income. Through this, you will not get rich overnight but you are guaranteed 100% success (if you do it right). If you are considering to make an enterprise out of your website, this strategy is definitely designed for you.
Creating a rapport with your readers should be a priority when creating content. You should never lose sight of the bonds you form with your readers. Offering useful and correct information is the perfect way to build these bridges. Don’t ever sacrifice the trust you have earned for a quick buck!
7. SET UP AN E-COMMERCE SITE
It is not set in stone that websites have to be about content. You can opt to take a different route and provide your clients with the products and services he/she needs.
Before you go out to set it up, you need to understand that just like any other websites, there are hundreds of thousands of eCommerce sites available in the online market already. This means that to succeed in this venture, you will have to create one that fills a very specific and unique niche.
I have to admit that this is not my forte. I do not, nor have I ever had an e-commerce site. I added it here because I know of many people that have very successful, profit generating e-commerce sites.
8. GENERATE LEADS FOR COMPANIES
Leads are a business’ lifeline. Companies thrive on new leads coming in to inquire about their products and/or services. Without leads, the business starves because it simply does not get enough customers.
For instance, if you have a website about creating iOS apps. Putting your readers in touch with different online schools that are looking to sell their courses to proactive students can be very lucrative. It should also benefit all parties involved!
In simple terms, you are a conduit to the two parties. You connect the two, the students and the online school. These two parties can benefit from each other and thus you play the role of the matchmaker. The leads you create do not have to be converted to sales. All the readers have to do is check out what the online school has to offer.
I am not talking about selling your readers’ contact info. Let me be super clear. You are simply facilitating contact between the 2 groups!
9. DONATIONS FROM VISITORS
If you have a strong, loyal following but you do not have a ton of monthly visits, you can ask your readers to donate. These donations will help you to cover some if not all your expenses in the long run. Remember, your readers have to be completely engaged with your content to donate. The only way to do this is to build a strong rapport with them through your content.
10. FLIPPING YOUR WEBSITE
There is always a market out there for a good website. If you have built up a huge enough following, you can sell it and make some serious cash while at it. The more traffic your website has, the better the price it will fetch.
I am not suggesting that you plan to flip your website from the beginning. Most people do it as a last resort because good websites take a lot of time and effort to create. For instance, if you need some quick cash to start a new venture, selling your website can be a viable option.
That being said, there is no denying how lucrative selling your blog can be. If your website makes $600 per month through affiliate marketing, the going rate is about $7000-$12000.This is around twenty times your monthly income!
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, there you have it. 10 sure-fire ways to make your own money-making website. Whether you want to increase your website’s earnings or if you simply just feel stuck and want to try a new venture, these strategies will help you take your business to the next level. The best part is that for each of these methods, there are thousands of people who have proven their effectiveness before you. So take a leap of faith and try a few out for yourself.
If you are interested in Affiliate Marketing, Check out my top recommended resource. You will learn the ins and outs of creating a successful business online.
To your success,
Mike Aha