How To Monetize Your Blog Without Ads
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Welcome back!
How To Monetize Your Blog Without Ads
Back in April, we talked about how to find advertisers for your blog. I provided a workable blueprint that you can follow to eliminate Adsense ads and attract cream of the crop advertisers. Today, we’re going to take a 
completely different route. It’s important that you have a growing toolbox of various strategies that you can use to make money online. Finding advertisers for your blog is one of them. However, there are many bloggers who are saying “No” to advertisers and instead, are using their platforms to make even more money.
Today, I’ll explain a few reasons why relying on advertisers to monetize your blog may be putting a damper on your income. We’ll also take a look at three ad-free strategies you can use to take your blogging to another level.
Why Saying “No” To Blog Ads Makes Sense
One of the major advantages to selling advertising space on your blog is that the monetization scheme is largely passive. This is especially true if you’re using Adsense because you only need to copy and paste the code. Of course, there are a few downsides.
First, blogging is a lot of work. Writing posts that your readers will enjoy and find useful often requires research. Meanwhile, the money you’ll make from advertisers will usually be less than that which you’ll make with other strategies; I’ll get to those in a moment.
Second, when you place ads on your blog and rely solely upon them to generate income, you’re not taking full advantage of your best asset: your influence. Remember, your readers are there because they want to know what you have to say. They’ll come to trust, like, and respect you. That influence can be used to generate far more income than advertisements.
Third, ads can play havoc with your credibility. Here’s why: many bloggers who want to make money with advertising wrap the topics of their posts around the ads. If you’re using Adsense, you already know that some subtopics in your market pay more per click than others. You’ll naturally be tempted to move your posts toward higher-paying subtopics.
Even when selling space to sponsors, you need to produce a return for them in order for them to renew their sponsorships. Otherwise, they won’t continue to buy space on your blog. Eventually, you’ll find yourself “writing to the ad” and your readership will suffer.
Making Money With Your Blog Without Ads
To be sure, you can generate a large income through blogging by placing advertising on your blog. However, other strategies have much better income-generating potential. Here are three of them:
#1 – Promote Affiliate Products
I mentioned earlier that your best asset as a blogger is your influence. Your readers will grow to trust your opinions and recommendations. When you endorse a product that meets their needs, they’re more likely to trust you than an ad. This has enormous potential when you’re writing as an affiliate.
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For example, suppose that you maintain a blog in the diet and fitness space. You’ve tried a nutritional supplement and have noticed that you’ve lost ten pounds. If you post about your experience and recommend the supplement, you’ll see a high conversion rate. This is your influence at work; it will pay much better than clicks on a weight loss banner ad.
#2 – Sell Your Own Products
Selling your own products is a natural fit for a blogger. The influence you have on your readers carries even greater potential to generate income than promoting affiliate products. For example, suppose that you’re selling your own ebooks, DVDs, and supplements in the weight loss space. Your readers are there because they enjoy your information. It’s likely they also respect your recommendations. Whether you’re selling information products, supplements, or exercise equipment, your influence carries weight. That translates into sales.
#3 – Explore New Business Opportunities
You’ll find that some of your readers will approach you to explore a business partnership or other venture. For example, if you gain a significant following in the weight loss market, you might be asked to speak at seminars, co-write a book, or contribute to a training program. There are many people who started as bloggers, but went on to form multiple companies with business partners they met through their blogs.
There are countless ways to make money online with free internet marketing strategies. Blogging is a fantastic way to do it because people will gravitate toward a memorable voice who offers useful information. But, don’t sell yourself short by relying solely on ads to monetize your posts. You can use the three strategies above to generate far more income while having just as much fun.
