Article by Wendy McCance

Every since I switched from a WordPress hosted blog to a dot com, readers have been curious what advantages I have seen from making the switch.  Honestly, the biggest advantage I have seen is my ability to monetize my blog.  It’s a main reason I switched over to a dot com.

My personal feeling is that finding ways to make money off of your blog is a great idea as long as you stay honest with your readers and pay special attention not to change the theme of your blog.

Honesty with your readers about making money off of products they click on and the free products you have received for doing a review is so important.  It’s hard work gaining a good-sized following.  People sign up for your site because they like what you have to say and they have faith that you are being a straight-shooter.  Don’t ever mess that up for some money.  It’s not worth it, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be up-front with them anyway.

You have worked hard to create a theme for your blog.  Using advertising is an awful reason to stray too far from the theme of your blog.  Having an inspirational blog does not mix well with selling auto parts for example.  I don’t care how much money you think you might get.  It doesn’t make sense and it won’t sell in that setting anyway.

I would like to share with you some great ways I have found so far to monetize my blog.

• Amazon Affiliate Program.  You can pick exactly what you feel would sell best on your site.  The program is simple to set up.  You can even add a store for free.  
  
• Skimlinks.  They keep track of all of the programs you sign up for through commission junction  (for example).  If an offered item isn’t available anymore, Skimlinks takes care of it.  You don’t have to keep checking  back at different programs.  If you have words in your blog that can be monetized by adding a link, they will add it in themself.
• Offering companies an opportunity to advertise.  If your site looks professional, your site pops up all over when searched and you have a good amount of traffic, as evidence through comments, likes etc… companies will search you out.
• Influenster.  Sign up at Influenster.com and take some surveys.  The site relies on people who have a blog or YouTube channel with a good amount of followers.  If you seem to be popping up all over social media sites, you will be asked to try products for free and either write about the product or talk about it on YouTube.  The best part is companies take notice which increases your chances of creating a relationship directly with that company.
• Offer your writing services.  You spend so much time writing on your blog, why not offer your writing services?  If you know how to craft a good article, why not monetize what you are good at?

I hope these tips have been helpful or at least have you looking at blogging a little differently.  One final thing, there is a blog I found recently that really impressed me.  This blogger is a professional blogger for a living.  He is very open in sharing what has and hasn’t worked.  The best part is that he will share his monthly income reports.  You will see how much he makes and from where those sources of income came from.  It’s really worth a look.  The name of this blog is: Leaving Work Behind.

If you like this article, you might like to read other ways to monetize your blog: How to Make Money Using Product Review Sites.

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Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]

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