Want to make a living from blogging about your passions? Where you can literally work from anywhere…or maybe you just want to make a little extra “play” money. There are people who are making $5,000/month, $15,000/month, and even $50,000/month from blogs just like the one you’re reading right now.
There are ways you can use a blog to make SERIOUS money…you just have to have a plan, be consistent, and commit.
That plan will start with finding a web host (link to “how to find a web host” post once it’s done) and setting up your blog. From there, you’ll need to start adding valuable content and start building your audience.
Once you have the foundation in place, you have the ability to start profiting from your blog. In this article I’ll outline the easy things you can do to start profiting from a blog, this works whether you currently have a blog or not.
1. Provide tons of free content
Many times blogging for profit and free content doesn’t jive for many. A mistake that many make is to immediately try to sell off their most valuable information before they’ve been around long enough to have gained the trust of their audience.
Before people will trust you enough to buy from you, they need to know you as a source of valuable information. And the best way to do this is to provide tons of value based content via blog posts, social media and free eBooks, etc.
2. Drive targeted traffic
Your ability to really profit from your blog is largely determined by how targeted your traffic is. Blogging for profits isn’t about getting thousands of hits a month that have no interest in your content. If these visitors don’t care about your topic, you’ll never make a penny.
Some of the most effective ways to drive targeted traffic to your blog include: using social media, guest blogging on complimentary sites and optimizing your blog for relevant keywords.
3. You MUST have a call to action
Depending on your marketing funnel, WHERE you place your calls to action may vary.
For example, if you ultimately plan to make sales through your email newsletter, you’ll want to make sure each of your emails includes a strong call to action (for instance, “Click here to download”).
In the same way, if you plan to sell directly through your website, you’ll want to make sure your blog posts contain a call to action to entice people to buy your product(s).
4. Niche down and specialize
Another mistake many make is focusing on too broad of a topic.
When they do this, they set themselves up to compete with the ‘big guys’…and this usually doesn’t end well!
Instead, focus on a more narrow, focused niche where there isn’t much competition. For instance, rather than building a blog around ‘online marketing’, focus in on something where you can offer highly specialized insights – for instance, ‘Instagram marketing for authors’.
5. Write a good lead magnet
Most bloggers don’t even think about building an email list. Most of us go into blogging thinking, I just want to write and I hope people will read it!
Then you want to build a large social media following on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. But what happens if you get kicked off, or they go out of business, or it goes out of style?
In other words, you don’t own the platform you’re focusing on. But if you collect an email address from something valuable you’ve created, you OWN that.
A good lead magnet helps you easily and quickly build an email list. Once you have an email, you can send your recent article, your weekly rants, and even start promoting your own products or affiliate products.
I use Getresponse for all of my email marketing needs, click here to start a trial.
6. Create Digital Products
Many think that selling advertising or using affiliate marketing are the best ways to make passive income from their blog. And while these can certainly be part of your revenue model, they shouldn’t be the only strategies you use.
A strategy that often ends up being more lucrative is creating your own digital products to sell on your site. This could be eBooks, webinars, online courses, or a membership program of some sort.
Digital programs are low overhead, can be created quickly, and people LOVE them. The online information market is HUGE.
Which leads us to my next tip…
7. Options to consider: Products or continuity program or both?
You’ll need to decide whether you’d like to promote and sell a one-off product like a downloadable eBook, or a continuity program like a paid membership forum.
Here’s something to consider when making this decision: would you rather sell a product and make a one-time sale, or generate passive income month after month?
Let’s say you set up a membership program where users pay a monthly fee for access to a private members forum, discounts and a bunch of “membership only” content. You need to attract customers ONCE, but you get paid EVERY month!
Of course, there are benefits to selling a single product too: as you build up a loyal following, you can continue to promote and sell your new products. So in this way, you also have some ‘continuity’.
Eventually, you might choose to do both!
8. Don’t undervalue yourself
Don’t undervalue your time, effort and expertise by selling your digital products for just a few bucks. Remember: It’s likely taken you years of blood, sweat and tears to get to the place where you can offer such valuable insights to your audience.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the more you charge for your products, the more time you’ll be able to justify spending on providing amazing service and support to your clients.
9. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
If you’re used to managing every aspect of your blog or business yourself, it can be hard to delegate or outsource tasks to others. But it’s important to ask yourself the following questions when attempting to profit from your blog:
- Could someone else do a better job of ___________? (Writing these blog posts, interviewing this expert, designing the graphics for my eBook, etc.)
- If I hired someone to do this for me, would I ultimately have a better (and more expensive) product?
- If I hired someone, could I get it done FASTER, and start making money SOONER?
Everyday I hire people on Fivver to perform tasks that either I don’t want to do, or that I want to save time on. Fiverr is a treasure trove of awesome people, check it out.
These 10 mind-blowing blogging for profits tips will give you a good starting point to make money with your website.
Looking for more resources for building and profiting from your blog? These are me best posts to help you make money from your blog.
How To Start A Blog In 28 Minutes Or Less
How To Make Money With Your Blog Part I
How to Make Money With Your Blog Part 2
How To Make Money With Your Blog Part 3
10. Build a community using social media
Social media is one of the most effective way to build connections with current and potential customers and clients.
The key is to build a strong presence on social media and make a point of actually engaging with your followers. This means asking AND answering questions, providing valuable information and advice, and letting your audience get to know you.
This is the best way to build community and trust! Remember, people buy from those that they know, like and trust!
11. You MUST have a solid marketing funnel
I used to be scared of funnels. Sales funnels are kind of like funnel cakes, they look cool and interesting, but do you REALLY want to go down that path?
But the fact is, once I added funnels to my blogs, my profits skyrocketed…
Before you can consistently profit from your blog, you need to decide what your online marketing funnel will look like.
This means asking yourself: what process will I use to move customers from finding me to actually buying my product(s)?
A very basic marketing funnel may look like this:
Social Media post -> blog post – > landing page offering a lead magnet -> capture email address -> promote and sell your/affiliate product via email
Once you have this process set up, you’ll feel confident that every person who visits your blog will be led through each stage of your value/sales process (and will, therefore, be more likely to convert in the end)…thus blogging for profits!
How To Profit As A Blogger
One of the hardest things about running a successful blog was realizing I had to sell. You are your own salesperson when you’re a blogger. You’re “forced” to sell, promote, sponsor, advertise, etc….
In other words, SELL OR DIE!
You can’t run any successful business without selling something, right? Blogging is no different. The key is to find ethical and moral ways to sell your own products or products you believe in and trust.
So, I changed the above “sell or die” to “ADD VALUE OR DIE.”
Because when you add value, you can sell by not selling. You’re just presenting information, educating, and “talking” with your readers.
So don’t be afraid to sell and you’ll profit as a blogger!
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