by Cindy Donovan | Training, Uncategorised, Wordpress Blogging
Speed Writing Skills
No matter what type of business you’re in online, you probably have to do at least some writing. Whether you’re a blogger, a website builder, an indie book publisher, a freelance writer, or even an online shop owner, chances are you need to write content of some sort.
We all know that time is money, and when you’re writing for your business, the faster you write, the more money you can potentially make. But can you really develop writing skills? Can you really change the speed at which you write? Yes!
You’ve probably heard of speed-reading, but did you know you can actually learn to write much faster, too? Some people can write up to 10,000 words per day, or even more, without spending every second of their time doing it. Would you like to learn how?
That’s exactly what you’re going to learn about in this guide. You’re going to learn how to write any type of content faster, no matter what it is you’re writing!
You’re going to learn about things such as the importance of outlining, how to do research, how to improve your typing speed, and much more. All of these techniques will help you develop your writing skills. You will learn how to write more quickly, and without all of the stress and frustration that can so often go along with the writing process.
Let’s begin.
Research
The first step to writing quickly is to gather as much of your research as possible before you start writing. Even if you’re writing fiction, you may need some research before you begin. For example, historical novels must be as accurate as possible, so research is critical. Reviewers are likely to tear you to shreds if you make mistakes in your research! And with nonfiction, research is just as important.
Research may consist of:
- Internet searches
- Books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
- Notes you create for character profiles, etc.
- Physical objects you may need to describe
In fact, research could be nearly anything as long as they pertain in some way to what you’re writing. Just be sure you keep your research organized, as it can be distracting and unproductive to have to keep looking for the information you need while trying to write.
You may still need to do some research during your project, but pulling together most of what you need before you start will help eliminate a lot of distractions that can take you away from actual writing.
Try to anticipate the information you’ll need before you start, and hopefully you’ll only have a minimal amount of research to do midstream.
Outlining
Once you have all your research gathered, you can start outlining your work. Even if you’re just writing a short email for your mailing list or a simple blog post, an outline will help you remember all of the key points you wish to make.
An outline doesn’t have to be extremely detailed. Some people work better with simpler outlines, while some prefer more complex versions. Find what works for you. Start with a simple outline first, and if you find yourself constantly facing writer’s block, you may want to move on to a move complex outline.
Your outline will probably be much more detailed for in-depth work like books or long-form articles, because more information is needed.
You don’t even have to put it in a standard outline form. The traditional outline has tiered bullet point or numbered lists, but that isn’t necessary unless you happen to prefer that type. Instead, it can simply be a list of points you wish to make in the order you believe makes the most sense.
You can always edit your outline later, but it’s important to write down all of the most important elements of your work before you begin so you aren’t as likely to experience writer’s block. Writer’s block is one of the number one speed killers, and an outline can significantly reduce it.
Typing Speed
It may seem like a no-brainer, but a lot of people never even try to work on improving their typing speed, and that’s a real shame. In fact, you could potentially double your writing speed just by increasing the speed at which you accurately type.
There are a lot of programs you can use to assess your typing speed and improve it. Any program will work fine as long as it also takes accuracy into account, because you need to learn to type with both speed and accuracy, as typos can really slow you down.
It’s actually recommended that you write without editing and go back and do your editing later. Editing midstream can actually cause writer’s block in some people, but if you are a persistent midstream editor, learning to type with both speed and accuracy can reduce the number of times typos distract you.
Practice Often
Even if you think your typing speed is up to snuff, it can probably still be improved. Even if you have a brain that works quickly and the ideas flow rapidly, it won’t do you any good if your fingers can’t keep up to get those words down on the page! Keep practicing your typing and measure and track your results. The more you improve your typing speed and accuracy, the better your writing skills will be, and the faster you’ll write!
Dictation
Another great way to improve your writing speed is to use a dictation like Dragon Naturally Speaking to turn your spoken words into text on the page.
You can check the program out here:
> http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm
Dragon Naturally Speaking (and other similar programs) will allow you to speak your words into a microphone and it will dictate the speech onto your screen.
So what makes dictation so great?
Well, most people speak faster than they type, so it is more natural for many users to speak what they want to write instead of having to type if. Some people double their words per hour, or even more, once getting the software trained to properly understand their voice.
Keep in mind that text written with dictation software will often need heavy editing to fix any mistakes the software makes and improve the punctuation and grammar, but editing is generally easier than the initial writing.
A few people find they do better when typing because they feel self-conscious speaking aloud even if they are alone. You might be one of those people, and if you are, don’t worry about it. You can either keep trying—training yourself to work well with dictation software—or just keep typing.
Remember, though, you’ll never be able to type as quickly as you speak, so learning to use dictation software is the best way to dramatically increase your writing speed.
Eliminate Distractions
Distractions are a huge problem for any writer, and they can come from many different sources. Children, pets, family, friends, Facebook, Netflix, video games, television… the list of potential distractions just goes on and on, and they can be extremely detrimental to the writing process.
The key is to train yourself to eliminate these distractions so you can truly concentrate on your writing without letting anything take your attention away from your writing.
One important key to remember is that you don’t have to write constantly all day long. Instead, you can break your writing up into smaller segments during the day. You can write at the times that have the fewest distractions, thus naturally improving your writing speed.
In-Home Distractions
If you live with other people, or even animals, those around you can definitely hinder your progress. You’ll even have to deal with phone calls, random visits, and other such distractions.
The first thing you should do is make sure you have a quiet place you can go hide when you want to write. This may not always be possible if you live somewhere without any privacy, such as a one-room apartment with multiple people, but if at all possible, find that private place to write, even if it’s a closet or bathroom!
It’s also important to sit down with the people around you and let them know how important it is that you aren’t disturbed while you’re writing. Bring up the fact that they wouldn’t interrupt you at a traditional job to ask where their jacket is or point out something on television, and that they can’t do it to you while you’re working at home, either.
Software
There are a number of different programs you can use for distraction free writing. Some can be programmed to take over your computer so you can’t do anything but write with it for a certain period of time. Of course, it will still take discipline to avoid being distracted by your phone, the television, the refrigerator, etc. But these programs will help with that by giving you set time limits for writing.
If you’re in a groove, you can always keep writing after the timer expires!
One program that can help you with distraction-free writing is Blank Page. They have a simple system that is easy to use and really works.
Check out Blank Page here:
> http://www.blankpage.io/
Writer’s Block
What should you do when you experience the dreaded writer’s block? Well, the solution differs based on your personality. Some people prefer to just step away from the work for a while, while others find it useful to do some free writing as a way to recapture their mojo.
If you find yourself forgetting where you were when you step away from your work for a while, and it takes you a while to get back into the groove, then taking a break is probably not right for you. Instead, you might want to do what is known as free writing.
Free Writing
Free writing basically means you write about anything you feel like writing, not necessarily on the same subject you’re currently working on, though it could be, without worry about spelling, grammar, or even making sense. You just write whatever comes to mind, and you keep writing without stopping for a defined period of time, such as five, ten, or up to thirty minutes.
Free writing can help you break through a writer’s block by freeing your mind from whatever is blocking it. This could mean writing in a separate document on the same subject you’re trying to complete, or it could be some entirely different subject—whatever works for you.
Here’s a quick example of a short free writing session just to let you see how completely nonsensical and useless it may appear to be:
I have writer’s block so I’ve decided to write about a flower. I’m writing whatever words come to me as I picture a red tulip swaying in the breeze. I’m not going to stop writing about this flower until I decided I want to, and even if I feel blocked I will keep typing words on the page until my session has lapsed. The flower is swaying as a bee dips from the sky and crawls between its petals. As it disappears, I wonder… (END)
The point is not to write something useable, but to kickstart your brain and get the ideas flowing again. So you truly can write about anything as long as you keep those words flowing!
Switching Subjects
Sometimes you can clear writer’s block simply by switching to another topic for a while before going back to the original one. This could mean writing a different fiction story, choosing a different subject to write about, or even just researching your next project for a while.
Often, writer’s block happens because of burnout. If your mind burns out on a particular subject, sometimes taking a step away to write something else will help clear the block so that when you return to your original work.
This may not work for those who tend to quickly forget what they were working on before, but for a lot of people it really can help.
Conclusion
Writing is never a simple task. It takes a lot of preparation, thought, and time. Fortunately, you can significantly reduce the time (and potential frustration) by following the tips we’ve covered in this guide.
Remember these important points:
- Gather your research before you begin writing.
- Create an outline to help you stay on track.
- Work on increasing your typing speed and accuracy.
- Use dictation software to write quicker.
- Eliminate as many distractions as possible.
If you use these techniques and consistently practice, you will be able to write faster and faster until you reach a point where you’re more productive than you ever thought possible.
Whether you’re writing articles, blog posts, emails, short stories, books, or even poetry, these tactics can significantly increase your production and reduce a lot of the frustration that goes along with writing.
I hope you’ve learned a lot, and I hope this guide will help you write faster than ever!
Best of luck!
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by Cindy Donovan | Marketing, Wordpress Blogging
Do you want to make money in the world of profitable blogging and discover how to make money blogging?
Are you itching to become one of those 6-figure bloggers that you’ve heard so much about?
If so, you’ll want to read every single word in this special report because I’m going to show you exactly how you can join the ranks of those who have cultivated a following of regular buyers through a network of highly-targeted blogs.
I’ve eliminated the clutter and time-consuming work-around so that I can take you deep into the heart of successful blogging without over-complicating the process, or forcing you through a long, drawn out learning curve.
Because the truth is; it doesn’t have to be so complicated.
Making money with carefully crafted niche blogs isn’t all that difficult to do. In fact, if you are looking for a fast and easy way to set up shop so that you can start to make money online without a great investment, blogging is the way to go.
Creating high-quality blogs in your niche or industry that generate traffic, and provide valuable content and information to your market is also one of the most effective methods of building a presence of authority and establishing yourself within your industry so incredible profit margins aside; blogging puts you in a great position within your market.
And guess what? The best part about this strategy is that it’s also exceptionally easy to do and is very cost effective. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to set up a blog. In fact, the majority of work will involve your time – not your dollars.
So, without further delay – let’s jump right in
The Truth About Blogging
Here’s the truth about 6-figure blogging: While working out how to make money blogging can be automated (eventually), you shouldn’t expect income to be passive from the get-go. You’ll have to work at it, especially when you are launching your blog and building a platform that you want to be recognized in your market.
When I first started blogging I was spending 30-50 hours a month creating content, converting visitors into email subscribers, and selling products and services (none of which I created myself – I focused entirely on affiliate marketing. More on that later).
While I eventually outsourced most of my content to skilled writers, I still spend time evaluating advertising options, reviewing products that I can promote, building my mailing list and creating ad campaigns to boost traffic and keep my blogs in the forefront.
While you can delegate many tasks to a team, such as content creation and even marketing, you will want to be directly involved in the initial building phase. This is your brand, after all. You need to make sure every piece of content has your voice, carries your message and represents your business in the best possible way.
No one will ever be as careful and professional with building your blog as you will be, right? So, dig your heels in and commit to spending the first few months building your blog from the ground floor up. Then, and only then, should you begin to create a team that will help you manage your blog and eventually, expand into other avenues with other niche-based blogs (if you choose to do that).
Again, in no way is blogging a hands-free method of making money during the INITIAL stages. You must be prepared to put in some time and effort if you truly want to succeed.
But the good news? Your hard work will pay off.
The 5-Step Formula
While there are countless reports and articles that overcomplicated the process to make money blogging, here’s a basic overview of how it’s done:
1: Create a blog and register a memorable domain. Avoid remotely hosted options. You need to be in full control of your website so you can take advantage of all the different revenue options with no limitations (or other people’s advertisements).
2: Write (or outsource) killer content that will generate traffic and drive visitors in. This content needs to be extremely high-quality, targeted and informative. All meat, no veggies.
3: Convert your visitors into email subscribers so you can build your list. A newsletter is key in building a successful blog online. Scratch that; a newsletter is essential to be successful in nearly ANY market online. You will never make as much money without one.
4: Communicate with those subscribers regularly so your lists don’t run cold. Build rapport and trust. Nurture relationships with your market. This is where you can build a recognized brand as an authority in your market and set yourself apart from the competition (especially those bloggers who aren’t doing this!).
5: Sell products and services to your audience via your blog and through your newly cultivated newsletter.
Sounds easy enough, right? It is. But it will take time. Let’s dig into each of these steps a bit deeper so you better understand how it works.
CREATING YOUR BLOG
This report is focused on how to make money with your blog, so I won’t go into detail about building the platform. Just know that you should always choose a memorable domain that is targeted to your market and that you set up a professional hosting account that houses your blog. Don’t use a free host or a remotely hosted option like Blogger.
CREATING CONTENT FOR YOUR BLOG
The type of content you create will depend on your target audience, but every piece of content should always be informative and the juiciest, most relevant topic you can come up with.
Your content will be what drives in traffic and keeps visitors returning to your blog. It needs to establish your blog as an informative source of content in your market so make sure you spend extra time crafting compelling content (or outsource to experienced writers who know your market inside and out).
Insider Tip: An easy way to provide extra value on your website is by using a plugin like www.PostGopher.com that will turn your article content into PDF files that your visitors can save to their computers. This lets them read it at a later time, keeping their attention and increasing your chances that they will digest your content.
BUILD AND CONVERT CUSTOMERS
You need to always be working towards building your list. This is a process you can set up on autopilot by using on-site opt in forms that capture visitor’s information and add them to your mailing list. Plugins like www.OptinMonster.com make it easy to add visitor’s to your mailing lists.
Offer an incentive to those who join your lists such as providing them with a special report not available anywhere else on your blog, or special offers and discounts on products and services. Always over-deliver, and start off easy. Don’t inundate your subscribers with paid offers right away – build rapport with them first and let them know you are looking out for their best interests.
Then, set up autoresponder campaigns that will broadcast different valuable offers and freebies to your subscribers over time. I personally set up an introduction/welcome email to go out to my subscribers as soon as they join my list.
Then, 2-3 days later, I have another automated email go out that offers a free special report on my niche. Then, a week later, I begin to condition them to open my emails because they know they’ll receive value by doing so. Another free offer, a special discount code or a special infographic based on what my visitors are most interested in.
It’s not until 7-12 days later before I begin to actively sell, and I do so as passively as possible. Rather than bold, in-your-face offers, I work WITH them by providing valuable resources or tools that I believe will help them or improve their lives in some way.
When subscribers feel that you are a friend who is looking out for them, rather than a marketer whose only interest is in making money, they will respond accordingly. So, don’t be a pushy email marketer – be a professional blogger with a pulse on your market and one who is willing to go the distance for your visitor’s (and potential customers).
Earn their trust and respect.
And finally, sell products and services like no one’s business! This is when you’ll start to make money with your blog and as you do, you’ll see what your visitors are responding to so you can fine-tune your system and begin to tailor both your email campaigns and the content on your blog, around what they are most interested in.
Which brings us to the meat of this report: HOW to make money.
What products or services should you sell? How can you turn free content into profit? How can you use your blog as a lead generation tool that will make money steadily?
I’ll show you how in the next section.
Top Money Maker
One of the most important aspects to building a profitable blog is deciding what form of monetization will work best for your market.
There are many different options available to you so figuring out which one to start with (and ultimately, gauging what format your visitors are more likely to respond to) is quite often the trickiest part in the process.
So, let’s break it down for you so that you can create a surefire system that will have you earning money in no time at all, while avoiding the under-performing options that so many people fall victim to.
DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVE:
You may start a blog simply because you’re interested in writing content for your niche market. Perhaps you have a lot of information to share and you enjoy helping others. Great! But, you still need to define your blog’s objective.
Is your blog designed around attracting visitors with useful free content that you can then turn into a lead?
Are you planning to use your blog to provide a free offer in exchange for an email address to build targeted mailing lists?
If so, then your blog is a lead generation mechanism and that is your objective.
The point of creating a blog isn’t just to make money by directly selling products and services, either with your own offers or via affiliate marketing offers. Your blog should also be a lead generation tool, a way to tap into your market, and build authority in your niche.
So, how should you begin to monetize your blog?
Affiliate Marketing!
Even if you have a product or service of your own, if you are new to your niche and aren’t established as a product developer, you should begin by creating compelling content for your blog and monetizing that content with established products and services from business owners that offer affiliate marketing options.
You can then siphon credibility from these established professionals, and better yet, you can let them do most of the work!
With affiliate marketing, you aren’t stuck in support desks wading through emails from customers who need help.
You aren’t working on graphic designers, promotional material and media kits in order to provide tools for promoters to use.
You aren’t working on updating products, chasing down and repairing issues or bugs in your software.
As an affiliate, you have one job to do: Sell the product and make money!
Affiliate marketing is hands down, the smartest strategy.
Need more convincing?
Affiliate marketers can set up profitable blogs faster than anyone else because you are not spending months investing time and money creating products. You can choose from hundreds of high-yielding products and feature them on your blog with a few clicks.
Affiliate marketers can generate an income that is almost purely passive. You aren’t involved in support, development or updates leaving you free to create content, build your email lists and evaluate products from developers that will make you the most money possible.
And affiliate marketing can also introduce you to hot selling products, giving you ideas for your OWN product later on down the road once your blog is established and you’re generating steady traffic! You’ll know exactly what kind of products sell without having to extensively test your own products, minimizing the risk of failure.
It’s a win-win situation.
The only exception to this rule is if you are a service provider. If you make money offering consulting, selling real estate or any other type of service, you will want to start offering those services on your blog from the beginning. But if you are not a service provider, affiliate marketing is the ONE monetization strategy you should focus on.
Not: Google Adwords, not paid advertising, and not product development – at least not in the initial stages. Affiliate marketing is where it’s at.
Sell High, Earn Higher
If you’re thinking, “What kind of affiliate products should I sell?”, we’re on the same page. That is the only thing you should be concerned about when choosing how to monetize your blog.
The key to success is not to go after cheap markets. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s better to sell a $10 product because more people will likely buy it. It’s neither true, nor logical. In fact, you’ll make things harder on you and you’ll have to work that much more to generate a decent income every month.
Instead, do what the pro bloggers do: start with higher-end affiliate products ($77 and up) and work your way down. Not only will you make more money, you won’t have to sell nearly as many copies in order to do so!
The only way a lower front-end product works is if you have a solid backend of higher priced products. In publishing, authors call this first product (book 1 in their series), a lost leader. You are basically selling at a price point low enough to qualify buyers (instead of freebie seekers), while enticing them into buying your backend products that are higher priced. That’s where you make money blogging.
In affiliate marketing, the only way that selling a low priced front-end offer makes sense if you have a series of high-priced back end offers up for grabs. When just starting out in blogging (and in affiliate marketing), it’s much easier to go for gold and promote higher priced offers on your front end while you cut your teeth on the process.
In addition, as you promote affiliate offers and build up your email lists you’ll be able to easily launch your own product later on at a higher price because you’ve cultivated groups of subscribers that are comfortable paying higher prices!
And remember, the one metric above all others is the number in your mailing list. Don’t worry about RSS feed subscribers – that is no longer worth considering – just focus on building your newsletters because that will be the true predictor of how much money your blog will make.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
How can you find the best affiliate products for your blog?
The easiest solution is by joining the Chitika advertising network here: https://chitika.com/publishers
While there are many different advertising networks (and I will share some other money-makers with you in just a bit), Chitika is one of the leading advertising networks online.
Here are others I have used. These are all fantastic resources for new blogs:
LinkShare: *Rakuten Marketing:
https://www.linkshare.com/
One of the largest affiliate networks online with over 10 million affiliate partnerships. You’ll have no shortage of product and service options to choose from.
Commission Junction:
http://www.cj.com/
This is the one I started with so many years ago (I even have a wooden train whistle they sent their first wave of affiliates!), and I continue to use them today. Very trustworthy, reliable advertising network.
ShareASale:
https://www.shareasale.com/
One of the most popular advertising networks with over 3,000 merchants participating so you’ll find a ton of products to promote.
Amazon Affiliate Program:
https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/
While the pay ratio is lower than many other networks, they offer you the ability to sell products from a highly recognized brand – plus access to their full inventory of products. I recommend testing out a handful of products when you first start blogging as they are exceptionally easy to get started with.
I’ll include some of the other advertising networks that I’ve used at the end of this report in the resources section. For now, join those four networks and scan their inventory for a handful of products that are relevant to your niche and what you feel your visitors would be most interested in.
Then, create your content. If you are on a tight budget and plan to outsource most of the work, spend the majority of your dollars on content development. This is how you’ll stand out from other blogs in your market, capture the attention of your audience and encourage repeat traffic. If you do nothing else, spend time (or money) creating the highest quality KILLER content possible.
Not sure what to write about?
Research the top 10 blogs in your niche market. Look at what they are writing about, what kinds of headlines and titles they are using. Which articles receive the highest number of likes and comments? Write down everything you find, creating a swipe file of information that will help you create the kind of content those in your market are most interested in.
Take your time with this! If you aren’t sure what kind of content your visitors want most, you really need to spend some time researching before you begin. It doesn’t take long. Spend an hour or two scanning popular blogs and you’ll quickly have a list of possible ideas.
Remember, all you really need to start blogging is 2-3 high-quality articles. Or, flip the script and offer your visitors a combination of content types including Infographics, articles, or a video.
And always set up your mailing list opt-in box before you start driving traffic to your blog.
If you want an affordable option that is also user-friendly, check out http://www.MailerLite.com or http://www.MailChimp.com and then integrate an opt-in form application such as LeadPages.net or OptinMonster.com to streamline the process.
Recap:
- Create 2-5 pieces of killer content in the form of articles, Infographics or videos.
- Invest in a mailing list service and set up your introduction/welcome email. No selling in the first 2-3 emails.
- Offer them ONE free thing: a report, a free download, or something else that’ll appeal to your market.
- Integrate 1-3 affiliate products into your blog content and into your mailing list newsletters.
- When you can afford to, purchase a mailing list opt-in plugin that will capture leads.You can go without this just by incorporating your mailing list sign up code into your blog itself, but honestly, applications such as OptinMonster.com are a lot more professional as they not only will automatically create the pop up boxes or on-site forms, but you can also customize it so that the forms appear based on user activity (such as how many times the visitor has been there, where the visitor is on your website, etc.).
- Evaluate affiliate products regularly from within the affiliate networks. Keep a pulse on your market, constantly visiting established blogs in your niche in order to stay up to date with the type of content that is getting a lot of attention as well as the kind of products that are selling.
- Generate traffic! Engage potential visitors through social media, create ad campaigns with Google Content Display network, utilize forums and communities within your niche to introduce your blog and maximize exposure.
Conclusion
I want you to start selling today. Don’t make the mistake that so many rookie bloggers make and believe that you should first build up your subscriber list to 1,000 before you start selling. Don’t worry about having “enough” content on your blog.
Begin by posting 2-3 highly informative posts on your blog that will appeal to your target audience and choose 1-3 affiliate products to promote. Divide that up and feature one product for every 2-3 articles on your blog, with the other affiliate offers being sent out to your newsletter subscribers.
The key is not to be pushy. Provide valuable content that will attract visitors and integrate an affiliate offer or two within your blogs structure. That way you aren’t shoving it in their faces but rather reminding them of a useful tool or service that will help them in some way.
It’s hard to stay motivated as a blogger if you aren’t making money so by kick starting your efforts immediately, rather than trying to perfect everything, you’ll see results that much faster. You’ll also be able to generate revenue that can go into building your team, hiring writers and marketers.
Once you have cashed that first check or accepted that first payment into Paypal for your affiliate sales, trust me; you’ll be hooked. J
by Cindy Donovan | Marketing, Training, Wordpress Blogging
If you are yet to create your first blog, don’t freak out… I have written a super beginner/starter article over here about how to set up your first blog – check it out – and then come back to this article to see how to make money with your blog.
How to Monetize Your Blog
Now that you have your first blog up and running you need to know how to make it work for you financially. There are many different ways of generating income from a blog and none of these ways are right or wrong – every website is unique and you will need to think about which revenue-producing method is going to work best for yours.
With this in mind, I have compiled a list of eight simple ways you can make money from your website and earn cash for doing what you love! Why wait? Monetize your blog today!
1.
Affiliate Marketing
One of the most effective ways of earning income is by promoting products related to your blog. This is known as affiliate marketing.
In affiliate marketing, you seek out products that are associated with your blog niche and then create awareness of the product on your blog. Should somebody buy the product using your link, you will receive commission from the sale.
For example, if you have a gardening website, you might write a blog post addressing ‘The Best Way to Get Rid of Weeds’, and then at the end of the entry promote a weed killer product. When your readers purchase the weed killer, you get a cut of the purchase price for having referred them.
There are several online marketplaces which specialise in affiliate products you can promote on your blog. Clickbank is a popular choice, as is JVZoo and Amazon but there are many others to choose from. These companies all run affiliate programs, allowing you to sign up and choose the right products for your blog.
2.
Product Reviews
This one is similar to affiliate marketing, but is undertaken in a more specific manner, and is more suited to those who are opening a blog in order to monetize it and market affiliate products. However, if you have an existing blog and want to incorporate some reviews, you might also be able to integrate some product reviews into your blogging schedule in amongst regular blog entries.
For product reviews, you will create your content as reviews, creating videos or blogs that offer a detailed review of affiliate products that cater to your niche audience. You then promote the product.
As with affiliate marketing, you will receive a commission but in this case you may be able to generate more sales as the review targets the product more directly.
3.
Teaching
Teaching and tutorials have commanded a huge online presence recently and there is certainly money to be made from offering them.
The selling and buying of knowledge has exploded and there is no time like the present to cash in on it and claim your piece of the pie.
Everybody has skills or knowledge in something. It might be the application of make-up, creating art, doing up furniture or fishing. Whatever you can DO, you can TEACH.
Get out pen and paper and start jotting down some ideas for what you can teach from your blog niche, then think about what medium you might want to use. You could include podcasts, videos or step-by-step guides.
You can decide if you want to charge for the teaching as a membership or as a one off fee for access to the content. What’s important is that the information you are selling is of good value and is not something they can receive for free on your site. Premium prices must go hand in hand with premium content.
4.
List Building
Everything you ever read online about internet marketing will tell you that one thing is absolutely worth its weight in gold: an email list.
Email lists allow you to reach tens, hundreds and possibly thousands of people with your website, services and products. When visitors come to your website there is one valuable piece of information you are going to want from them more than anything – their email address…and you are going to need to do everything you can to get it.
Using your email list you can offer your visitors special deals on your membership or affiliate products, send them your latest content to view or ask for donations. Just be sure not to fill your campaigns with affiliate links and don’t send more emails than they can handle. Spam will have them unsubscribing which is counterproductive to your purposes.
5.
Offering Premium Content
Once you have established yourself as an expert, or are at least perceived by your audience to be one, you can then leverage premium information in exchange for a payment.
Lock the premium content in a particular section of your blog and get members to sign up to a paid subscription in order for them to unlock this ‘members only’ section.
This premium section could also be a forum which allows only paid members to post or read the boards. If you have loyal readers who would enjoy interacting with one another, then start a private forum and charge a small fee to access it.
Increasing numbers of websites are using the premium membership model to monetize their sites. Once you have attracted visitors with your free content, introduce them to the amazing content and added benefits they will have access to, by paying a small fee.
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Product Creation
The best way to make monetize your blog, hands down, has got to be creating and selling your OWN product.
If you don’t have a product, get creative! You could create an e-book, a video, photographs, or anything! You could even record your blog posts into audio and sell them as podcasts. Have a brainstorm about what you could offer, within your niche that would be worth money and then get working on it!
The best part? You make 100% of the profits. And, because you are not selling out of a local shop – the world is your oyster. Putting your product on your website puts it out there for the whole world to buy.
The world, and particularly the internet loves consuming, and what better way to feed your hungry visitors than by offering them a quality product which you know they will be interested in. That’s what makes this idea so fantastic– you will be selling to a database full of warm leads because you already know they will be interested in your product.
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Service Offering
If you don’t feel that products are your calling, then why not offer a service?
This comes back to knowledge. What do you have going for you? Offer it out as a service. This could be coaching, mentoring, assisting with financial planning, instructing and giving strategies for things (e.g. stock trading)…the possibilities are endless!
Put simply, you are taking whatever real work skills you have and offering them out as a service to your blog followers. Your followers can then pay to use your professional services through your website.
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Donations
This may seem like a long shot, but it’s worth putting out there.
If you have a loyal audience on your blog, then try asking your visitors to donate a small amount to assist you with the costs of providing your website.
Be sure to tell your followers what the money is for – hosting fees, domain registration etc… The most important thing to remember is that people will only pay for information that has been helpful. Make sure your offer is worthy of their hard earned money and they may just let you have some of it.
I hope this list has prompted you to think about how you might monetize your blog, and inspired you to try your hand at making money online.
Feel free to leave a comment telling us what your favourite way of making money on YOUR blog is!
