Today, having a blog or a website is necessary for your company (or for the company that you would like to start). Most businesses create a website to state their presence on the internet. They don’t realize that their website can be used to generate a secondary source of income.
It’s not a myth that you can make money with your website. A lot of websites on the Internet are made for only one reason: to generate income.
If you are trying to generate income with your website or blog, here are ten steps you can follow:
1. Affiliate marketing
The beauty of affiliate marketing is that you don’t have to invest the time and effort required to create a product.
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other businesses’ products. When your website visitor clicks on your affiliate link and buys the product, you’ll receive a commission.
- The company is happy because they receive new sales from customers that they might not otherwise have been able to reach.
- The customers are happy by acquiring the product they desire.
- You can begin selling something as an affiliate as soon as you have a platform to sell it on.
The following is a list of links to products that you can sell via affiliate marketing:
- Rakuten Linkshare (http://www.linkshare.com/ )
- Commission Junction (http://www.cj.com/ )
- Amazon (https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/join/landing/main.html )
- Avangate (http://www.avangate.com/ )
- ebay Partner Newtork (https://ebaypartnernetwork.com/ )
- Product to promote (http://www.clickbank.com/ )
- Share different sale (http://shareasale.com/ )
- FlexOffers (http://www.flexoffers.com/ )
- Revenue Wire (http://www.revenuewire.com/ )
- AvantLink (http://www.avantlink.com/ )
2. Pay Per Click
If you have ever noticed the advertisements that appear alongside search results on Google and other search engines, you are already familiar with PPC.
Google has a program called Google AdSense for publishers (bloggers, website owners) and advertisers (business owners, marketers and product owners). This system is simple. Say for example that you own a business that specializes in camping equipment and a customer wants a new tent. He or she might enter the keyword “camping equipment” into a search engine to find retailers offering the desired item. You make money when costumers click on advertisements represented on your website. Here’s how it works:
- Select the ad you want on your site (more options mean more revenue). Choose the right ad types and formats for your site (ad types include text, display, or a mix of the two). Try different formats and use the one that best suits your website.
- Choose where you want ads to appear. This is done by copying and pasting a code on your site where you want to show your clients’ ads.
- Watch the highest paying ads fight for a spot on your website (advertisers bid for your ad space in a real-time auction).
- Let Google handle finances. They will handle the process of billing the advertisers and networks. When ads are seen or clicked, you’ll earn money. You’ll get paid once you’ve accumulated Google’s minimum amount of ads requirement.
Click here to get set up with Google AdSense: (https://www.google.com/adsense/start/#?modal_active=none)
Don’t forget, Google is very strict. Read their ‘Terms and Regulations’ before you start.
3. Selling advertisement space on a website
As the name suggests, all you need to do is sell ad space on your website. You set up a price (ex, sidebar banner for $300 a month). You get paid up front and the price depends on your traffic.
Depending on the amount of traffic from different sources on your website, you can sell that sidebar banner for prices as high as $5000 a month.
Website popularity is necessary before selling ad space for high prices.
The following are websites you can use to market your ad space:
- This one is particularly popular – BuySellAds
- AdvertiseSpace
4. Sell your own digital product (ebook, etc)
Selling your own product cuts the cost of using a ‘middleman’ to sell your product. In other words, sell directly through your website.
It takes a lot of time to create a good product that you can sell through your website. Make sure it’s ready before attempting to sell. In addition, an optimized landing page for the product is essential for heightening your conversion rates.
Resources
The following represents the top ten online services used to sell digital products: (http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/services-sell-digital-products/)
5. Become a Sponsor/Give a donation
Supporting a good cause does not only provide businesses with convenient advertising. Being altruistic in the public eye creates positive publicity that encourages customers to choose your business over non-empathetic competitors.
You don’t need a big budget to create a large sponsorship. Whether you have thousands of dollars to give or just your time, sponsorship marketing can boost your small business.
If you are accepting donations, make sure that your visitors know why you need those donations (hosting expenses, new product creation, researching costs etc…).
6. Accept sponsored posts and articles
Once your site is getting a good amount of monthly visitors, you can offer sponsored posts and articles. There are a lot of advertisers who would be interested in writing sponsored posts for your website.
– You can start with different kinds of Sponsored Posts:
- An article that is supplied by a sponsor contains sponsor links within the text or in a product details section.
- An article that you write yourself, sometimes on a related subject, contains sponsor links in a disclosure paragraph at the end of the post.
- A review article that you write and receive payment for (in addition to normally trying out the product or service).
– Why you want to accept Sponsored posts.
– Bring in an income – If you’re starting to monetize your website, then you should consider moving towards sponsored posts. This is one of the easiest ways to earn extra money (once your blog or website is popular in search engines).
– Portfolio of monetization strategies – Even if it isn’t a significant source of income, it’s useful for your portfolio to include monetization strategies. This can potentially give you enough to blog full time.
– Variety of content – If you can persuade sponsors to give you professional articles, sponsored posts will provide more variety on your site than you could produce alone. If you are doing a travel blog, there’s a limit to how many countries you can personally visit. Having articles from other travelers can promote your blog.
– Being paid to write your own content – Increasingly, sponsors are looking for you to write the article yourself. This makes articles seem more credible to both readers and search engines (if written correctly). This also reduces the hassle of hiring a professional writer or journalist. If a sponsor website or link is relevant to an article that you are writing, then you are effectively being paid to write for your own website.
For more information on accepting sponsored posts and articles, read the following: (http://weblogs.about.com/od/monetizingablog/p/SponsoredReview.html )
7. Selling leads on your website
Generating leads means you help other organizations or companies make money. It can be a simple e-mail submission or phone call. Leads may come from various sources or activities. For example, digitally via the Internet, through personal referrals, through telephone calls (either by the company or telemarketers), through advertisements and social events.
The following is a list of ways you can generate leads:
- eBooks
- Newsletter
- Blog
- Networking events
- Develop an engaging video
- Infographic
- Webinars
- Media coverage
- Strong branding
– Where can you find such offers?
- MaxBounty
- Neverblue
- Peerfly
8. Start building an “Email List”
Building a list means that you collect your visitors’ email addresses. Ninety percent of successful websites use this technique.
If you’re looking to build an email list, we recommend AWeber. It’s got a ‘drag and drop’ email signup form builder, professionally designed email templates and it’s inexpensive. Try AWeber today for $1 with our affiliate link.
Make sure you create relationships with your followers by simply offering great information and/or free help.
DO NOT SPAM DIFFERENT OFFERS THROUGH EMAILS, or your followers will dislike your corporation.
-How does it work?
Listbuilding 101 – This is one of the best introductions to building an email list on the internet.(http://socialtriggers.com/list-building/)
The following is a link to instructions on how to build a list with your website: (http://www.clientattraction.com/2013/02/how-to-build-your-list-with-your-website.php)
9. Setting up an online store
You don’t always have to create a website about a specific subject. You can create a tool for your business – an online store. The world of e-commerce is an exciting prospect. You get to sell your goods online and participate in building something from scratch.
Still, it’s not wise to jump in without a plan of action. Whether you build your site on WordPress or another platform – using WooCommerce or without – you need to have a few essential things in place before you process your first transaction.
The following are five essential things you need to set up an online store:
- Get Your Financials Set Up
- Shopping Cart or Store Platform
- Web Hosting and a Domain Name
- SSL
- Think about something to sell
-How do I create a successful online store/shop?
- Launch a successful online store by Ecommercefuel (http://www.ecommercefuel.com/launch-online-store/)
- There are four ways to build an online store with WikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Start-an-Online-Store)
10. Sell your website
Website selling is becoming a very lucrative business model. If you are into short-term projects and even more into making a quick buck, you can consider selling your website. However, you have to ensure that your website either receives a lot of traffic or generates money through different monetization methods.
Another option is to sell ready-made websites. They are much cheaper, yet profitable.
-Where can I sell my site?
Flippa – The most popular website market.
We Buy Websites – Another marketplace.
FEinternational – Mostly for high-end websites.
Read more: http://line25.com/articles/11-tips-to-selling-your-website-for-profit
