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There are plenty of stories going around that blogging makes money but does it really work? Blogging is a good way to make money alright especially if you tied up with affiliate marketing. In fact, more people are in the affiliate marketing industry today compared to a few decades back.
Why use Affiliate Marketing on your Blog?
Bloggers these days are eager to find ways and make money out of their blogs but at the same time, some of them are hesitant to truly take the risk because they don’t want to be branded as a “sell out”. However, making money with your blog is not a crime. You just have to find the right way to do so. Affiliate marketing is now a popular trend among bloggers and it is for a good reason too. Besides earning from it, there are a number of good reasons why one should use affiliate marketing in their blogs. Here are some reasons why you should engage in affiliate marketing:
- It is an authentic way of marketing – some bloggers don’t really like putting ads in their blogs and that’s alright but with affiliate marketing, you can always promote products or services that you really believe in. Incorporating links in a way that is subtle is harmless.
- It enhances your authority as a blogger – it is not always easy to make a name for yourself online especially with the number of good bloggers out there. But with affiliate marketing, you can provide the best reviews and point your readers towards the products that they may be interested to know. You can provide them with your insights and information which can later on make you as a trustworthy source of good deals.
- It doesn’t really require you to do much effort – a blog with steady followers and awesome content is fairly easy to integrate with affiliate marketing. You just need affiliate links and introduce a good product to your readers.
- It is only controlled by one person; you – you really don’t have to jump on every product and endorse everything. You are the one who chooses what to promote on your page and how they will do in the future. You can simply choose the right product that is relevant to your blog.
How Can You Monetize Your Blog with Affiliate Marketing?
Now if you are someone who writes informative and engaging content in your blog, what else could be better? Earning from it of course! Blogs could come in different styles and topics and if you happen to be a proud owner of a blog with steady followers then all you need is to monetize it. But how can you do that? How can your blog be a part of the affiliate market?
- Pick the niche you want to work with – you really can’t own a blog and not pick the right niche. It’s like taking up a college course with no specific major. So choose one that appeals well; know your demographics, their interests and how you are going to speak to them in your blog. Consider your competition as well this way you can think of strategies to set yourself apart from them.
- Build a site and create awesome content – building a site can be hard especially if you don’t have an idea about it. You can choose to work with professional web designers so they can help you create a good and reliable website for your blog. Creating consistent content is also important. Content that is easy to read, informative and valuable to your readers is always a plus.
- Build an audience and nurture them – keep in mind that content alone is enough to attract an audience. Once you do have that steady flow of followers or readers, you need to make sure that they don’t decline or un-follow your blog. So in order to do that, you need to go out of your way and promote your content. Be on social media; use various platforms to keep your blog visible. Always make it a point that your blog is there for your readers. Making them feel that they are a part of your daily activities will also make them feel that you care about them.
- Keep your followers happy – keeping your readers happy about your blog can be challenging but it is not impossible. There are different ways to do this; you can offer subscriptions, rewards for participating, contests, bonuses in your email lists, discounts etc. If you know how to cater to the needs of your followers then you will surely create loyalty. The happier they are, the more chances you have of earning more followers in the future.
- Monetise your past content – using a tool like ThirstyAffiliates along with our Autolinker add-on you can also monetize the content that you have already created. This allows you to set keywords that should be linked up to your affiliate links. You might be surprised about how quickly you can start generating commissions using this technique.
Remember the Basics
While there are so many things that you need to do in order to keep your blog going (which isn’t so bad if you ask me), there are only three things that you need to truly keep in mind:
- Always prioritize your content – this shouldn’t be ignored. If you want to make money from your blog then you need to keep your content on top of the line. Consistency is the key so it is important that you come up with high-quality and informative content. It doesn’t really matter what or how you choose to make money with your blog but as long as you provide your readers with fresh and useful contents then it will be easy to make profits in the long run.
- Keep it interesting – the next thing that you should consider (mainly) is the quality of your content. It should be something informative, exciting and useful. Don’t write something that makes you look like an aggressive real estate agent who is trying so hard to sell. Instead, keep your content fresh with interesting topics; something that your readers would love to read. Sure it could be hard to think of fresh content to post on a regular basis but would you really compromise something that you are earning something from? Don’t write and advertise alone; this will irk your readers if they feel that all you are concerned about is making money. So if you can, keep your content classy and tasteful.
- Test the Waters – as I have mentioned, you don’t have to promote everything all at once. Instead, test first before you end up confusing your readers. Say your blog never had an ad before, now it looks like Las Vegas, full of neon lights and ads everywhere. Do you really want that to happen to your blog? Of course not, so it is best to test first especially if you are not familiar with the process on how you can make money out of it. Do a trial and error first and see how well you fair. Don’t do too much or it will be hard to tell what is actually working.
Is Affiliate Marketing Good for Monetizing Your Blog?
The question remains, is affiliate marketing really good for your blog in terms of making money? If you are aiming to make money from your blog then this could be a good entry-level to start monetizing it. It’s easy to integrate so you don’t really have to do much. However, if the brand you choose to promote isn’t making much money then this may not work out for your blog. Again, do your research well and choose a brand that will do you well than harm.
Of course you don’t have to do this forever, you can try and if it doesn’t work out then you can always find other ways to monetize your blog but if you are determined then go ahead and do what it takes to make it work. After all, blogging is all about timing and if you have all the time in the world then go ahead and reach those goals!
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