3 Ways to Monetize Your Website
I’ll be honest with you. When I first started my blog Frugal Fanatic, I didn’t really plan to turn it into a business.
It was more of a creative outlet and a way to share all that I was learning about saving money as I grew my family. But I quickly realized that if I was going to spend a lot of my time tracking, writing, and posting, that I needed to monetize it just to make it sustainable and hopefully even grow it over time. I hated the idea of taking so much time away from my family if I didn’t in some way contribute.
I have met a lot of other bloggers and business owners who pour their hearts into their content, and are waiting until some deadline or milestone in their mind to start making money online. The truth is you don’t have to wait. There are multiple ways to monetize your business. I wouldn’t recommend every option, but I am going to show you a few things that I have tried.
Please keep in mind that you don’t need to try every single thing for your business. The key is figuring out what works best for you before moving onto the next revenue stream.
Today, I’m going to share with you 3 ways you can monetize your online presence.
Advertising
(this is my least favorite method!)
When it comes to blogging, one way you often hear to monetize is through advertising. This means that you place code on your website to advertise products using services that curate ads or specific ads from sponsors that you work with personally.
It’s very hands-off, but not very lucrative unless you have a large volume of website traffic all the time. This was the first way I tried to earn money from my website, and it seemed like it would be easy money just by pasting a little code in.
I honestly thought that it would have been so easy. I would just paste a few ads and then sit back and wait for the money to roll in.
Unfortunately, after a few months, I earned only $100 and all of those people who clicked the ads were then leaving my site. That meant they weren’t reading my posts or subscribing to my email list -- which are my main goals. It was then that I realized I wasn’t going to be able to create sustainable income from ads.
You will see (at the time of writing this article) on my other site, Frugal Fanatic, I do still have ads. I’ve gone back and forth a hundred times about removing them from my website, but haven’t done it yet.
Products and Services
Another way to monetize your online platform is through creating your own products and services. This is one way that I now create income in my business, but early on I didn’t use products and services. I wasn’t sure what I could create for my audience, and I didn’t have time to dedicate to creating and launching something new with my family obligations.
I knew I always wanted to have my own products on my site, but it just wasn’t something that I could do a few years ago.
It is a great option to earn money from your website if you have specialized knowledge or skills that you can use to help your audience solve a problem they are having. It’s a great way to utilize your email list and to start building a reputation.
You can help people through one-on-one services, small group programs, digital products like courses, e-books, and more. Not only can you earn an income with your own products and services, but you get to be creative and.
The downside to this option is that it takes a lot of time on the front end -- even if you are creating something evergreen and hands off. You have to create it, sell it, optimize it, and continually market it … and if it’s a service, then you are continually providing it as well.
You have to consider your available time, money and resources when you are ready to offer a product or service on your site. It isn’t something that you just want to rush into doing.
In the beginning of 2016, I launched my first online course and absolutely loved it. I now have incorporated online course and even small group programs into my business plan.
Affiliate Marketing
(this is my favorite method!)
Another great way to monetize your website is through affiliate marketing. This strategy allows you to create income by recommending products that you already know and love. When you have an affiliate relationship with a product or website, you get a commission for every purchase someone makes through you.
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This is the key way that I started to monetize my website, Frugal Fanatic. It was an all-around win-win for me because I could still serve my audience by making heartfelt recommendations for products and services that they could benefit from while also earning money from the commission payouts. I love being able to help solve a problem my audience is having by providing an affiliate product or service as the solution.
Affiliate marketing has gotten a bad reputation but that is because most people do it wrong. They feel like they can just recommend any product or service to their audience and then completely lose their trust and respect.
If you follow my 3 rules of affiliate marketing you can earn money without feeling like you are selling your soul.
This is a great option for when you don’t yet have a product or service or even a large volume of traffic since it doesn't cost to get started and you don’t have to spend a lot of time creating anything new. Last year, affiliate marketing sales made up more than 58% of my income.
As long as you are consistently providing great content, driving people to that content, and in integrity as you recommend items, you have all you need to make an income with your website.
Have you tried monetizing your website? Which have you tried or which do you want to try? Please share in the comments below.