Legitimate Ways to Make Money with a WordPress Blog
WordPress has made it easy for people to setup both blogs and websites. The platform is open source and offers great web development tools. As a matter of fact, you don’t need any prior web development experience for you to create a website on WordPress. Once your website is setup, the next step is to monetize it. It is possible to make money using your website or blog. Here are some of the legit methods you should consider using.
Affiliate marketing
This is when you recommend products or services to customers using special tracking links. In return, you will earn a commission every time a user clicks on the affiliate link. To succeed with this method, you have to make sure that you promote products that are related to your WordPress blog and also increase you traffic. The more traffic your blog gets the more clicks you will get and the bigger your earnings will be. There are many products to promote from ShareASale, Amazon and Commission Junction. You can then manage your affiliate links using plugins such as ThirstyAffiliates.
Display Google AdSense
Another way to make money using your WordPress blog is by displaying Google Adsense. You just need to add a script from Google to your site and begin displaying ads. You get paid each time someone clicks on the displayed ads. This is known as CPC ads (cost per click). This is a great way to monetize your site when you start out.
WordPress advertising plugin to sell ads
The problem with Google Adsense is that the earnings are very small. Selling ad space directly can be lucrative. If your blog has good reputation and gets a lot of traffic, you can consider selling advertising space directly to advertisers. With this option, you can use CPC, CPM or charge a flat rate. Flat rates are better because keeping track is simplified. You can negotiate pricing with advertisers.
Sell sponsored posts
It is possible to monetize your WordPress blog without relying on ads. In this case, you should consider sponsorship. Here, you get paid to represent a product, talk about a product or to promote the product to your audience. To make your site more appealing to the advertisers, you need to get one-page media kit which shows details on traffic stats, audience demographics, social media following and other data that will be appealing to the advertisers. With this data, you can negotiate sponsorship deals. Make sure you understand the laws on disclosure in your area prior to getting started. In certain areas, you will be required to disclose if the post is sponsored.
Write reviews
You can earn money writing reviews on your WordPress blog. With this option, you are paid to test products and give your take on them. This is more like sponsored posts. For more success, you should review products that are relevant to the niche of your blog.
There are other methods you can use to monetize your WordPress blog. The key is to pick the method that works best for your type of blog or website. Don’t just promote anything.