It’s been a while since I’ve focused on blog monetization… and I’m finally getting back into the swing of things with the She Runs The Show blog. Having read soooooo many articles, books and posts on how to monetize a blog, I’ve come across tons of tips… some helpful, some not so much.
So… let’s cut to the chase… if you, like me, want to make blog monetization a key factor in your business in 2017, where do you start?
In places most of those articles and books won’t tell you. Scratch the affiliates, sponsored posts, and selling a product. Before you can even get to the revenue streams, there are first steps that any blogger is going to need to take first.
Below are your first 5 steps to blog monetization:
- Know your audience (and make sure they’re hungry for what you’re offering). Who is your blog meant for? What are the demographics of those individuals? Where do they spend their time? When will they be reading your blog? What are their FAQs? How can your blog be the answer to those?
- Have a blog mission. What is your blog designed to do? Teach? Train? Build brand awareness? What’s the impact you want to have? The blog mission is especially important for you because it’ll keep you pressing forward on days when you get ZERO views on a blog post you worked tirelessly to create.
- Decide what 1-2 blog monetization streams you’re going to focus on. For me, my blog monetization streams will boil down to two things: 1) Sponsored posts and 2) Selling my products (in this case, my upcoming retreat and online course). I’m not dipping into affiliates, ads or any other revenue stream. Why is this important to decide up front? Focus is power. By deciding on 1-2 blog monetization streams, you can build your knowledge and mastery on those two (instead of spending Shiny Object Syndrome time on 5 things but no mastery. Remember: No Jack-Of-All-Trades allowed).
- Build a blog editorial calendar for the rest of the year (or the entire year) FIRST. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a blog editorial calendar that lays EVERYTHING out for you. That way, you can batch write and schedule posts and you don’t have to worry about figuring out what to write or find time to write at the midnight hour. Blog monetization takes consistency and consistency requires scheduling.
- Start an email list and give a call to action to join the email list at the end of almost EVERY blog post. As I’ve heard so many successful entrepreneurs tell me, “The money is in the list.” From Day 1, your goal needs to be building a list. You can go with Mail Chimp or Aweber but, whatever you do, start a list today.
I’d love to hear from you!
Which of the above steps are you going to take action on this week? Tell me about your blog and send any questions my way about starting or building your blog. I can’t wait to connect!
P.S. Below are some resources that I’m diving into that are absolutely ON POINT with helping bloggers know what to do and when to do it:
She Runs the Show 