Contributed post
Why do we blog?
Is it because we find the exercise of committing our thoughts, insights and reflections therapeutic? Is it because we want to use our blog as a whetstone to sharpen our writing skills in the hope that we will one day be able to ditch the day job and begin a lucrative career as a freelance writer? Is it because we get a kick out of reading the comments section and knowing that others have read and enjoyed the content we lovingly created?
All of the above are valid reasons for blogging, but if you actually want to start making money with your blog, your lovingly crafted online journal may need a bit of an overhaul.
Your blog could be making you a tidy sum to supplement your income, if you would only tweak it a little.
Here are some reasons why your blog may not be living up to its potential in monetary terms…
You lack a specific focus
One of the key aspects of monetising your blog is ensuring that it receives a steady stream of clicks.
If advertisers are to pay you to get their ads on your blog they want to know that those ads will be in front of the right sets of eyeballs. If your blog is primarily read by friends and family, you’re unable to monetise it without a specific focus.
The more specific the focus of your content and your use of keywords, the more likely it is to find the people who are looking for the information you’re providing. Unless your personal brand is incredibly strong (i.e. you have a huge social media following) you won’t receive the volume of clicks that will get your blog making money.
Find an area of expertise and stick to it. The more specific you are in your approach, the better.
For example, if your blog focuses primarily on parenting, choose an aspect of parenting that will draw specific interest such as nutrition, behaviour management or health.
You haven’t harnessed the power of the cloud
Another aspect of monetising your blog is posting regular, high quality, information dense content that makes judicious use of keywords.
Of course, life gets in the way and a busy lifestyle may compromise your ability to post content regularly. But remember the power of the cloud. IT companies like Office Tek will tell you that virtually any business can improve its operations by using cloud based solutions.
All blogging platforms are cloud based, meaning that you can produce content from anywhere in the world. Thus, you have no excuse for not posting content at least once a day, every day.
You don’t really know your options
Few bloggers are aware of just how many options there are at their disposal to help them make money from their blogs. They use one or maybe two solutions then are disappointed when the coin doesn’t start rolling in overnight.
Affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, product reviews and, of course, ads are all hugely important in allowing you to make money with your writing passion.