writefortheweb

Question:

Are there any particular ways you would recommend to make blogging pay off? Adsense doesn’t seem to be a good income maker and although I’ve heard the button, “Buy me a cup of coffee” generates some donations, most people don’t get much from them. What do you think?

Answer:

Monitizing a blog can come in many forms. I had planned on addressing it later on, but in a quick snipit, I’ll explain what I have found works. Many people, these days, most people, have adsense on their sites. The market sees them so often that a person knows they can find what they want on nearly any site in a specific niche. Thus, fewer clicks for your site, and subsaquently, adsense does not result in a significant income.

Dontation and Buy me a coffee buttons do result in some income. Generally I find that those have significant gaps in the income. One or two people think about donating, every so often. It is a nice addition, but not a good monitization. The better options in my opinion is in two area’s:

1 - Affiliate Marketing (must be very niche specific)

2- Private Review Sales

3- Blogging for other blogs (a hired blogger, based on your own success)

I realize the second choice is not often “approved” by big brother google, however it is effective if you have worked hard to build your site, your PR and your online athority in your niche. Some people will actually search you out to have you review their products, because of your athority, if you have done your homework.

There are other options like paid to blog posting positions, and review sites, and others. I’ll not recommend these for anything other than an occasional buck or two. The ultimate end goal is rarely reached that way.