Whether you began blogging as a hobby or it has always been your goal to monetize your blog, advertising is a great way for you to turn your venture into a business. In the beginning, however, you may find the process overwhelming.
Fortunately, the addition of advertising to your site isn’t all that difficult. With the variety of methods available, anyone can find the perfect mix that suits their blog and, most importantly, their readers.
In this post, we’ll discuss why bloggers should consider placing advertisements on their site. We’ll also reveal four advertising methods that are great for beginners, and how you can get started incorporating them into your blog.
Why You Should Consider Placing Advertisements on Your Blog
If blog monetization is your goal, advertisements may be just what you need to make it a reality. Ads can be your sole source of revenue or they can act as a means of diversifying your income. If you’re already making money online through product sales or e-courses, then blog advertisements are just one more way to add to your revenue stream.
There are also non-monetary reasons for placing advertisements on your blog. One is the value they can provide to your site’s visitors. Advertisements can be tailored to meet your target audience’s needs, which means you can choose to only display ads for products or services you believe will benefit them.
Of course, there are some cons to consider as well. Ads can negatively impact the user experience, making it difficult for readers to navigate your site. Closely linked to this is their ability to harm SEO if you go overboard.
Overall, displaying ads on your site can be an excellent money-making strategy. Yes, there are some potential downfalls. However, these can be avoided as long as you use restraint and know how to place ads appropriately.
4 Ways to Monetize Your Blog Through Advertisements
Now that you’ve weighed the pros and cons of placing advertisements on your blog, it’s time to take a look at some of your options.
1. Network Ads
When you think of advertisements, display ads are likely what first spring to mind. These typically pay out on a cost-per-click or cost-per-impression basis, and are popular options for high-traffic sites.
As seen on The Knot, ads can be targeted so they are relevant to your website's content. If your blog draws lots of visitors, they can be a great money-maker.
Some networks you might want to consider getting started with are Google AdSense and BuySellAds. If you’d like to incorporate display ads into your blog but you're worried about user experience, consider doing the following:
- Keep ads to a minimum on each page.
- Be sure to provide adequate space between each advertisement.
- Make sure ads don't obstruct your main content.
If done correctly, you can hit the sweet spot of earning revenue while still keeping your readers happy.
2. Sponsored Posts
Perhaps one of the most underrated advertising techniques is publishing sponsored posts. This strategy offers a unique way to monetize your blog while still providing lots of value – including fresh content – to your readers.
Sponsored posts are less intrusive than other forms of advertising. They require a disclaimer (like the one in the example above) so readers know you were paid to share your opinions.
Typically, sponsors will approach bloggers and request a sponsored post be written. However, you can also enlist your own sponsors. This gives you the freedom to choose products and services you’ve used and loved, adding authenticity to your post.
Of course, you’ll also have to think about a fair price. This will depend on a number of factors, including your blog’s reach and other stats that indicate your success as an influencer.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves displaying ads on behalf of an affiliate network or a company that has its own affiliate program. Typically, these ads earn you money if a click-through results in a sale. Affiliate ads can be incorporated in various ways, and might involve display ads, text links, or even full posts.
We mentioned versatility when discussing display ads, but this also holds true for affiliate ads. Whether you’re using a sidebar ad, an affiliate link, or a banner ad within the content, affiliate ads offer a variety of placement options.
To incorporate affiliate ads effectively, consider these tips:
- Communicate the benefits: Let readers know what value the affiliate company can offer them.
- Consider a resources page: You could list your affiliate ads in one spot, making them accessible but out of the way.
- Only use them where relevant: To avoid coming off as too ‘salesy', only add affiliate links where you think they will be most helpful to your readers.
If you’re not sure where to begin with affiliate ads, there are plenty of popular options you might want to consider. Amazon Associates is fairly straightforward to get going with, while Clickbank and ShareaSale are also great options.
4. Competitions and Giveaways
Competitions and giveaways typically involve you encouraging engagement by offering a prize put up by you or a company you're partnering with.
You won't receive funding for the majority of sponsored contests and giveaways. Sponsors won’t send you any cash in exchange for running them. However, you can still earn revenue, if they're combined with affiliate links. For example, the links in this promotion could well be affiliate links (as below):
This strategy creates buzz, increases engagement, and will hopefully boost traffic. This in turn can increase income from ads and other forms of revenue elsewhere on your site. Giveaways also enable you to network with the audience of the company you're partnering with as they share the promotion on their social media pages and website.
If you’d like to give competitions and giveaways a try, here are a few tips to get you started. One of the main things to remember is to only offer products that are relevant to your niche. Irrelevant product giveaways might boost traffic in the short-term but probably won't improve readership in the long run.
Also, aim to work with sponsors with large audiences and networks. This will increase your reach and make your competition or giveaway much more beneficial for you.
Conclusion
If your dream is to monetize your blog, advertising could be the perfect way for you to get started. There are a variety of methods to choose from, and the versatility they provide is great for bloggers at all levels.
Don't Forget: You can incorporate these four simple advertising methods into your blog. To recap, they are….
- Display network ads.
- Sponsored posts.
- Affiliate marketing.
- Competitions and giveaways.
Do you have any questions about how to monetize your blog through advertisements? Let us know in the comments section below!
What's Next?
Now before you start thinking about making any money with blogging, you need to start a blog first with the right platform, with the right tools and build it the right way for success from the very beginning. Why not join our 30 Day Blog Challenge where we show you how you can get started and build a framework for a successful blog in just 30 Days.
Image credits: Pixabay.
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