Many Internet marketers complain about their list size. In fact, one Internet marketer complained via Facebook that they had nearly 2,000 people on their blog email list. The problem, they said, was that their mailing service would begin charging them $30 a month even though their blog doesn’t generate that much.
This Internet marketer has 2,000 loyal readers that provided their email addresses, but don’t have an understanding of how to establish a relationship and monetize a blog.
It’s often noted that blogging is no longer a viable venture.
However, as you may well know, that’s not the case. After all, thousands of bloggers are making a passive income of six figures or more a month. And, if you want your blog making you that kind of money, you need to know what the monetizing mistakes are to ensure that you don’t fall into the trap.
Of course, you have to consider the plethora of information that’s out in the online world about how to monetize your blog. Many people, sharing this information, are folks who have never made a penny through the Internet.
What can you do?
First, understand this, you have all kinds of options at your disposal to generate money from your blog. However, with each way comes the negative aspects to them. With this in mind, you need to know what the four common mistakes bloggers make to ensure your dreams of making passive income are not shattered into oblivion. By recognizing them, you can deal with them before any irreparable damage is done.
You Don’t Consider About Blog Monetization In The Beginning
Bloggers often ask themselves how they can make money if they give their best content away for free. Here’s what to ask yourself:
- · Why are people reading my material?
- · Are they leaving comments after the material?
- · Are they taking your advice and letting you know about it afterwards?
If people are reading your material, leaving comments and coming back and letting you know they took your advice; it’s because they feel your content gives them something of value – something they can use.
When you think about it, your obligation is to generate money via your blog. Why would you spend your precious time or money to produce content that’s just being “given away”?
Not even, right?
You pay for services and products that assist you in generating money, getting healthy and entertaining you, right? Your audience feels the same way. You want them to pay, but exactly how they want what you have and deliver that is the issue at hand.
Therefore, blog monetization is not something you do when you think about it. You need to think of it first. You address your audiences’ issues, give them an answer to that problem and give them some additional value.
How Can You Fix This Mistake?
Be sure your free content comes as a valuable gift to your subscribers. Your paid content needs to address a certain resolution to their difficulties. Monetization needs to be your key achievement – it’s not something to be done just for the sake of doing it.
For instance, Tim Ferriss has a 100 percent free blog, with some of the best web content people will see. However, he’s a bit hesitant on monetizing a blog. However, he discovered a way to be more to his audience. He created “Opening the Kimono,” which is an event with a $10,000 attendance price. The day it was announced, the event sold out. It was what his audience had been clamoring for.
You can monetize your blog by giving your readers what they want the most. If you give them this, they’re going to pay you money for it. How you do this is really not the issue. There’s no reason to copy what Ferriss did; just do what’s right for you and your audience. Create a product and sell it or offer some kind of valuable coaching service.
There’s always time to diversify the portfolio.
You’re Not Using The Strengths Your Blog Has
When you choose to monetize your blog, you don’t want to go with the popular style. The best thing you can do for yourself and your blog is to take benefits from the strengths it offers.
For instance, if you notice the plethora of your traffic is coming from social media, it would be a good idea to use the social media platform to engage with them in a private community. You can also let them know of a paid option to your service.
Do you notice readers buying products you’ve recommended? If so, then you need to consider affiliate marketing but do it ethically.
Are your readers dedicated fans? Enjoy the bigger profits and personal fulfillment by developing a product they want instead of using products that waste their time.
Do you love to share the knowledge you have but don’t like to sell your services? Forgo the cultured coaching packages and consulting options. While you’re going to make money, you’re not going to be happy about it. Do you really want to be miserable like that? Create a course your audience can read at the pace they want.
There are so many examples, but you get the gist of it all.
How Can You Fix This Mistake?
How can you make money with your blog? It begins by doing what makes sense to your niche and audience. It’s not what the next big thing is spouting off. You know what is working and not working on your blog; use the strengths your blog has to come up with a monetizing strategy.
Brain Pickings Maria Popova’s blog is a definite example. She focuses on the unexpected connections in art, culture and science. The blog is totally dependent on reader donations. She’s not afraid to ask for money upfront from her readers, and since they love her work, they’re more than happy to donate it.
It’s important your blog’s assets are taken advantage of, but that’s not enough. You need to make sure your audience knows what you are offering them. You could have the best marketing campaign, but it’s not going to save you if you don’t let them know what you’re offering.
You Believe The Myth That All You Have To Do Is Believe In Your Product and You’ll Have Traffic
Have you ever been told just to do something, believe in it, and you’ll win? Well, that’s not exactly the truth. You can’t just build something and have hope in it that you’ll gain your financial independence from it.
Do you think Spain’s Villa in Costa del Sol would be so successful if it was just built and waited for someone to make a home out of it? Of course not!
The problem is that many bloggers take this approach when trying to create a successful business. They automatically assume they’ll make money because their audience will buy whatever product they create. These bloggers create the product and don’t do anything else with it.
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Before you do a single thing, you have to be sure your readers have a desire for your product that you want to create. There are two key things you have to know:
- They want what you’re going to sell
- They can afford what you’re selling
If you don’t validate your idea, the time you spend developing it is just a pure waste of your time.
How Can You Fix This Mistake?
There are all kinds of ways you can determine if your monetization idea is worth the time and effort you put into it. If your idea isn’t any good, you’ll never get the time and effort back. So, how can you validate your idea?
- · Carry out market research to find what your competition is doing
- · Conduct a reader survey
- · Initiate a pre-sell pilot
- · Use a pilot group to test the viability of your product
When you get feedback from them, and they tell you that they’d pay for what you’re creating, you know your idea is worth money. If not, that’s good too. It means you won’t waste any time on developing something that’ll fail.
If they offer suggestions and feedback on how things can be better, use it.
All successful blogs have done this validation and testing to ensure they could become successful. It didn’t matter how big the audience was or how worthwhile the idea is, they have to know for sure it’s going to work.
If you have the blog will make you money, you need to validate your idea. There’s no reason to wait!
You Wait To Do Anything Until Your Following Is Huge
Does your blog need a large audience to be financially successful? Of course not! You don’t have to wait until the numbers hit 10,000 or more to monetize you blog and make money. You just need a loyal base of readers to make money. It’s your approach that will dictate whether or not you’re successful.
If you’re going to rely on just ad revenue, you could be successful if the blog is big. However, if you dabble in selling affiliate products, numbers don’t matter as much. Of course, the bigger the better rule is still worth mentioning.
And, if you offer high-end products or services, things could be interesting for you. Two sales could push your sales high, regardless of how big or small the audience is. Go with a creative approach, and you’ll find that a small readership can produce a plethora amount of revenue from your blog..
How Can You Fix This Mistake?
Avoid thinking you don’t have a big enough readership to make money. Videofruit founder Bryan Harris could prove you wrong that a service is more profitable than a product for small lists. After all, size doesn’t matter.
Are You Hindering Your Blog’s Own Success
Many bloggers who’ve become successful can say with certainty that they regret not taking steps to monetize their blogs sooner. No doubt the reason why! Coming up with amazing free content over and over can get boring and old.
Don’t do this to yourself! There are a plethora of strategies that will help you to create a blog that makes you money and allows you to do what you love. The only thing that will hold you back is the myths and mistakes noted above.
Of course, you now have the tools to fix those mistakes. Use them so that you can increase your monetizing efforts and be a successful blogger. There’s no reason for you to wait! Start making money and monetize your blog today!
