A Complete Guide on How to Monetise a Blog

The advent of social media has given us countless options for creating and marketing content. So much so, that online blogging has evolved into a full-time role of its own. While anyone with an internet connection and flair for writing can now set up a full-functioning online blog, to write and deliver content that engages readers and is capable of generating money requires more tact. So, here is a step-by-step walkthrough of how you can write a blog and monetise it to make money:

Getting Started

The first and foremost step in creating a blog is picking a good domain name for your site. It is the name that will define your blog, and the name your audience will associate with your posts. While there are no hard rules to pick your domain name, it helps if you use keywords that describe your site. The domain name should be easy to remember and should suggest the nature of your product or service. It is important for your visitors to get an idea of your blog just by looking at the domain name.

The next step is to customise your website design in a manner that suits your blog’s theme while at the same time is easy to navigate by readers. You can either design your website or can create your blog on content posting sites like WordPress, Medium, Blogspot etc. While it is always a good idea to attach media to your site, take care that it doesn’t compromise the quality of your web page. Remember that readers will be attracted to your site for the content you post, and attaching too many multimedia widgets might hamper the speed with which your website loads, especially on mobile.

Writing Effective Headlines

Writing good headlines for your post is equally important as picking up a good domain name. Eye-catching headlines give your post a 1 to 2-second window of opportunity to convey the essence of your post. They help the reader decide whether your blog is worth reading, and by extension, whether your website is worth visiting. 1 to 2 seconds is also the average amount of time that a reader takes to scan one item before deciding whether to click on a link or move on to the next one. So, make sure that your headlines are written in a manner that accurately reflects the topic that you are writing about. In addition to this, make sure your captions effectively convey the unique selling point of your article. For example, consider the two headline variations for a topic about the importance of AI in education:

“Artificial Intelligence is Changing Education”

“How Artificial Intelligence is Influencing Change Through Online Education”

While both headlines talk about the same topic, it is easily discernible that the latter is far more effective. Not only does it convey the intent of the article, but it also gives the reader more insight into what the article would be discussing in detail.

Creating Content

Once you’ve set up your website, the next step comes in creating and marketing your content. The content you post on your blog is what brings people to your site, your sale funnels, and to your affiliate ads. To make your blog successful enough to generate money, it is essential for you to focus on three key aspects:

• Provision of a substantial amount of fresh posts
• Writing on topics that are relevant to your user base
• Post regularly

If your blog isn’t updated on a regular basis, it is very likely that your blog will lose importance and readers, which would result in fewer site hits, minor traffic, and reduced chance of profits. While it is difficult to maintain a steady supply of ideas for posts, a blog that is aimed at making money usually has a pre-established focus. For instance, your blog can talk about technology, music, art, literature, cooking, pets, automobiles, or anything that has a dedicated readership. If you wish, you can also diversify your portfolio within your umbrella topic as much as you can. A blog that talks about art curation can even talk about its history, its impact on society, and also about how technology is altering the process of art curation in a rapidly changing landscape.

You can also cover aspects of your topic that put you a little outside of your comfort zone as well. For example, if you want professional writing, like writing about photography, then finding a trend or a technique that you or your readers might not be familiar with can significantly improve the quality of your posts. This would consequently help in establishing a dedicated audience that can help spread the word about your blog.

Monetising Your Blog

There are many methods that you can utilise to monetise your blog. Some of these are discussed below:

Pay-Per-Click

Pay-Per-Click Advertising, or PPC, is an effective way to generate revenue if your blog attracts moderate to high traffic. Many companies like Google, Yahoo!, etc., offer PPC ad-serving applications for publishers and webmasters. After registering with your concerned company, all you need to do is to run a Javascript or an HTML code on your webpage to activate the advertisement. The company tracks the number of times an ad has been viewed and clicked and then makes your payment at the end of the month.

Give your clients an immediate boost to their business with PPC marketing services. It is one of the best ways to receive great traffic to websites and thereby ensures the clients with a faster return on investment (ROI).

Google Adsense

Google Adsense is a perfect opportunity for those who own their website. When you apply to Adsense, Google determines what the content surrounding its ad slot is about, and then displays the related ad. Thus, if you use Adsense, not only is your content marketed to the right audience, but Google makes sure that the ads are also appealing to your readership.

CPM Ads

CPM ads are effective for blogs that have high page views but lower click-through rates. This is common for most tech blogs as tech-savvy readers are less likely to click on ads. CPM Ads can also be used as an alternative to Google Adsense. If the payout per click on your site is really low, then replacing Adsense with CPM ads could significantly increase your average monthly revenue. You can refer to some popular CPM ad networks for your blog like Value Click, Casale Media, Right Media, Tribal Fusion, etc.

While maintaining a regular posting schedule can be daunting, the benefits of monetising your blog far outweigh the efforts it takes to maintain it. Once you’ve settled on a niche topic that serves a loyal readership, then all you need is to run some ads that best suit your blog to start earning money from it.