In the early days of the internet, blogs were mainly used as personal journals. Now, they’re used to provide information, entertainment, and everything in between.
These days, the massive diversity in blogs attracts up to 77% of all internet users around the world. In the UK, blogs have become so successful that recent Statista surveys reveal that nearly 40% of Brit bloggers have audiences between 1,000 to 10,000 visitors. Because of this traffic, it’s no secret that blogs are also used to make money today. In fact, many bloggers make a full-time income from their blogs alone, and the strategies to generate revenue from blogs continue to evolve. If you’re hoping to make money from your own blog, below are some monetisation tips:
Display banner ads
In the earliest days of blog monetisation, banner advertisements were the most popular way to generate a steady income stream. In 2022 and beyond, displaying banner ads is still an effective and easy way to make money from your website. They’re easy to set up and don’t require much work from you after that. You can create a few banner ad spots and earn money for each click those banners receive. Some of the top UK advertisers that use banner ads include Virgin Media, L’Oreal, and Tesco.
Some bloggers sell banner ad spots individually, but the easier method is to sign up with an ad network that will place adverts automatically.
Setting up banner ads is relatively inexpensive compared to other types of campaigns, making them attractive for new bloggers who are still determining how much traffic their site will attract.
Open an online store
One of the best ways to earn money from your blog is by opening an online store where you can sell products related to your content. You can sell physical products, such as clothes or accessories, or digital products, such as e-books or software.
Opening up a shop on your blog is made even more convenient through payment processing solutions that are designed to help small businesses. This includes blog owners and online content creators. Because these solutions support contactless payments such as credit cards and phone transactions on virtual terminals, visitors can shop and check out items conveniently. These solutions also provide anti-fraud systems and automated reports that offer ease and protection to bloggers and clients.
With the rise of e-commerce, now is the time to maximise the consumer demand for online shopping through your blog.
Become an affiliate marketer
Affiliate marketing is an easy way to make some money from your content while providing helpful information to your readers. This type of performance-based monetisation involves promoting other people’s products or services on your website and earning a commission from it.
You don’t have to be a professional marketer to start an affiliate marketing business on your blog — all you need is a website where you can post articles about the products or services that serve your niche. The best part is that many affiliate programs in the UK, like Skimlinks and FlexOffers, cater specifically to bloggers and make the process easier for you.
Offer membership plans
Membership plans are one of the most common ways to monetise a blog. Such plans give your readers a way to pay for exclusive content and help you build a community around your work.
They can be anything from a simple email newsletter that gives subscribers access to exclusive content and discounts to a full-blown subscription service for premium content and services. You can offer different membership plans based on price points, from as low as £2 to as high as £100 a month, depending on the content. The key is ensuring that whatever you’re offering is valuable enough for people to pay for it.
Whether you’re planning to monetise your blog as a side hustle or a significant income stream, there are plenty of options available for you in 2022 and beyond. By getting the right mix of traffic, a well-designed website, and an engaging content strategy, you can expect money to flow in.