What better way to announce our new blog development section than to start with a post about how to make money from your brand new blog?
It’s been written about before, hundreds of times of course, but since we like to practice the tried and true, I figured I’d spit out some good ones geared toward sites that are new and don’t necessarily meet the traffic requirements for some of the other, higher paying programs.
Lately it just seemed that we’ve been getting lots of clients who wanted just blogs - no static pages, no sales stuff, just really well designed, easy to manage systems that they could use to make some cash with while writing about their favorite topics. Of course, once we build the site, we love to help our clients monetize!
For new sites, there are a couple good ways to start off (including some active examples!):
AdSense - The amount of money you can make from AdSense depends largely on your niche. If you’re blogging about “drug rehab” you could find yourself making a good couple dollars per click. Blog about “scrapbooking” or “weight loss” and you’re looking at just a few cents per click. But the income is related to the traffic because you need other people to do the clicking. (aff)
Traditional Affiliate Program - My personal favorite is ClickBank, though there are many others out there. Find the one that has categories of products you can promote (ie. products that match your blog’s topic), and make money whenever someone clicks through and makes a purchase! You can even track your clicks with ClickSensor V2 (aff)
Affiliate Resale Program - One of the most well known is Amazon. You can build text or image links, and now even “aStores” which result in unlimited pages of products that YOU choose to promote. Have a digital photography blog? Sell cameras, lenses, and books about photography. Are you a “foodie” blogger? Sell recipe books, kitchen gadgets, and magazine subscriptions. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination!
CafePress - Create your own items with your own works of art and sell them from your site! T-shirts, mugs, mousepads, bags, even clocks!
So there you have it - Three great ways to get started making money from your blog from day one. The good news is that using a content management system like WordPress offers plugin options to help you incorporate these things even easier! You can conceivably manage everything from your WordPress admin and a PayPal account. Check out the following monetization plugins:
AdSense Deluxe - create ad block “shortcuts” to insert Google AdSense anywhere, anytime you’re blogging.
AdSense Widget (for sidebars and widget-endabled themes)
AdSense Revenue and Earnings - Track your earnings right from your admin section!
Amazon Media Manager - a little complicated to get used to, but it’s the grand-daddy of all Amazon plugins for WP.
Now Reading @ Amazon - Allows you to use a “now reading” section and write reviews for books you’ve read.
CafePress Store Plugin - Create items like t-shirts, clocks, and mousepads and sell them right on your WP site.
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