How to turn your blog into a money-maker

• Only use original, high-quality content. This includes original images (if possible) or ones available under a Creative Commons licence that allows you to use them for free.
• You will also need a good amount of content (around 20 to 30 posts) before your blog can generate an income.
• Ensure your blog is visually appealing and as user-friendly as possible.
• Learn about search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to increase your blog’s visibility and popularity.
• Advertising your blog is essential to keep traffic numbers high. Ensure that you have an integrated social media approach with a presence across various channels, and don’t be afraid to promote blog posts you expect will be viewed or shared widely. If you have a writing job, link your blog to your byline.

ADVERTISING NETWORKS
Advertising networks connect businesses looking for online advertising space with websites looking to host adverts. To host adverts on your blog, contact one of the online ad networks and begin the application process.

Some popular options include Google AdSense, Infolinks, AdThrive, and PropellerAds. Spend some time creating an established blog that boasts good traffic numbers before applying to an advertising network, as the amount of money you will earn is directly linked to these figures.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS IN WHICH YOUR BLOG CAN EARN MONEY FROM HOSTING ADVERTS:

1. Pay per view (PPV): Your blog earns money based on how many people have viewed the adverts on your site. This is also sometimes called cost per impression (CPM).
2. Pay per click (PPC): Your blog only earns money when a reader clicks on a particular advert link.

AFFILIATE MARKETING
Another way to earn money from your blog is through affiliate marketing. This is when you use your blog posts to refer to particular products/services and earn a commission (as an ‘affiliate’) for this marketing service. For example, this could take the form of reviewing a particular product on your blog and then providing links for readers to follow to purchase it.

Some of the most popular online affiliate marketing companies are the Amazon Associates Program, ClickBank, Commission Junction and Partnerstack. Depending on the partner you choose, your blog will either earn money on a pay per click basis or a pay per sale (PPS) system, where you will earn a percentage of the sales price of the product/service you have successfully advertised.

SPONSORED CONTENT
Finally, sponsored content is another way to earn money from your website. With sponsored content, advertisers create the content but pay the website host to publish it under their editorial brand.

A great example of this is News24, which regularly features sponsored content in its news feed. This form of income is usually only available to established blogs as advertisers are looking for a recognisable brand with a clear ‘voice’ to tap into.

It’s important to remember that if you can attract sponsored content, you are legally required to indicate that it is part of a paid campaign. Whichever avenue you choose to monetise your blog, the most important foundations to success are establishing your website and building your audience. From there, the world wide web is your oyster.

BY DAVID FORD