There are lots of ways to make money online. One great method is to start an engaging blog and be a thought leader in your niche. Some niches are very competitive such as gaming, tech, and finance but others might be quite uncompetitive.


As you’re building up your readership you’ll want to start thinking about ways that you can turn that traffic into money. The following five monetization methods are an excellent place to start:

1. Ad sales

   You can sell ad directly on your blog. This cuts out the middleman and you can usually make more money than you could with just Adsense.
   Selling ads can be a much more time consuming monetization method because you may have to manage a lot of ads. If you only have a few ads then it might not be that difficult to keep track of your billing schedules. You also need to find advertisers that would pay for space on your blog. This can be difficult too; especially if your blog is new.
   
   
   

2. Google Adsense & other contextual ad networks

   When people think about monetizing their blog the first thing they usually think about is Google Adsense. A lot of people have used Adsense to make money from their writing and it can work great if done right.
   Make sure you place your ads in locations that don’t look too spammy and make sure you’ve placed Adsense on the pages of your blog that are getting a lot of traffic. Adsense is likely the easiest of all of these monetization methods but it is also the lowest earner in many instances.
   
   
   

3. Online affiliate programs

   If you have a blog with a decent amount of readers then you can get paid a commission every time those readers perform an action or buy something from another website. Affiliate marketing can be tough work because your business model is reliant on your visitors converting on another site. If you have enough traffic or enough highly converting traffic it might be easy but otherwise you may have trouble with online affiliate programs.
   
   
   

4. Selling products

   This can sometimes be the hardest way to make money from your blog but it can also be the most profitable. If you already have a product to sell then a blog can be a very helpful marketing tool. Don’t fill your blog posts with self promotional garbage though. Write about things that people are interested in relating to the products you sell.
   Engage your readers. Make them laugh, give them useful information and advice, and give them a reason to come back often. It’s not easy but it can be very profitable.
   
   
   

5. Selling services

   Creating an noteworthy blog can be a great way to find new clients. If you’re a web designer or photographer then your blog can showcase the work you do and the things that you’re interested in. A blog will give a potential client an idea of the type of person you are and the work that you are capable of.

There are the top 5 ways to help you monetize your blog. The best part about most of these methods is that you can test them out without having to commit longterm. See which methods are making you the most money and which ones might be best to avoid. Try moving your ads around your site and try to find the perfect placement to make money and keep your site looking clean and credible. Good luck with your blogging.